Lady Jezebel
by Lily Zen
Summary: An AU of the Dark Angel saga focusing on an original character named Raina, X5-501. Takes place after Skin Game. Alec x Raina. RE-WRITE IN PROGRESS.
1. Prologue

Lady Jezebel

Prologue

Fandom: Dark Angel

Pairing: OFC/Alec

Rating: M

Warnings: mentions of torture

Archive: Ask

Author: Lily Zen

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Notes: Formerly known as "Lady Jezebel, Lady Jesus." I've changed the title because I have decided that I just can't write Max. Not in this series. It's not about her. So, to state it in plain English, Max is a supporting character in this story. I think this will help it flow better instead of bouncing around in different points of view.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a man. Well, not really a man. Not if you consider the fact that he was a member of a cult that had been preparing for a prophecy to come true for thousands of years by selectively breeding their children so that each generation was stronger, faster, better than ordinary humans. They called themselves the Familiars, though that was the modern adaptation of the name.

This man did not believe in the doctrine of the cult and went against them, using modern science to create an amped-up human to rival the Familiars so that they would protect the human race from the prophecy. The government, seeing the usefulness of these genetically superior beings, stepped in and took over Project Manticore. They decided to turn these creations into weapons so that they would fight for their country. The man who they called Father was forced to flee, abandoning his work, his research, his creations.

A number of years later, after many other events had come to pass, a group of these children—transgenics, the scientists named them—decided to escape, to see the world outside of the gray halls of the buildings where they ate, slept, and all trained together. Some were successful; others were not. Of the children in the unit, only twelve made it over the barb-wire fence.

After that, things got a lot worse. The people who ran Manticore wanted to know where they had gone wrong, what mistakes they had made with the latest test group-they had, after all, seemed so promising—and they wanted to keep it from happening again. So the other young transgenics were put through rigorous tests that skirted the line between scientific evaluation and outright torture, pushed to their limits until either their minds broke under the pressure or they accepted the yoke of control. Units were reorganized, new limits imposed on interaction between the kids. The government wanted soldiers, dammit; they wanted assassins. They didn't want rebellious children.

Those that refused to break or bend were isolated. At best, they could hope to live out their lives locked in a cell in Manticore's basement, the only kindness offered to them being the negligence of those in power. Perhaps they would simply be forgotten like so many of Manticore's failed experiments. However, some were singled out, marked as pliable with the right trigger. Those transgenics were paid special attention as the man who oversaw the X5 class thought up new ways to try and make them submit.

One such child was a girl. She had no name. None of them did. Just a number, a twelve digit barcode: X5-379122426501. For short, she was simply called X5-501.

501 and her male counterpart were designed with a very special purpose in mind. As with some of the children, Father had paid special attention when he was making that girl and her brother, choosing their specific genetic markers with care. The man had wanted to create a seer, a psychic able to see the future in order to control the way certain events unfolded leading up to the fulfillment of the prophecy. This was in the final days before the military official took over. Seeing his inevitable forcible ejection from the program, Father had hidden 501's true purpose underneath another directive.

Some were fighters, some were stealth operatives, others were battle processors or psionic agents. These two were given enhanced charisma and persuasive abilities, made extremely beautiful so as to be eye-catching to the extreme, and they were called Mata Haris, after the exotic dancer who had used her connections among military officers to allegedly become a spy during World War I and executed by firing squad. The male didn't make it past his eighth year. He fell victim to a common affliction among the X5s: seizures. Somewhere during processing, something had gone wrong and their brains did not produce enough serotonin. It could be controlled with proper medical treatment. However, the scientists didn't catch the mistake until kids started dropping dead from grand mals.

Only 501 survived. Being a seer, the girl knew what the future held for them at Manticore and saw the other unit escape before they even knew they were going to do so. 501 wanted to go but knew she could not make it out of her barracks on her own, and she wouldn't be able to get the other members of her unit to follow her. Unlike most of her unit, 501 was withdrawn and preferred to blend in, silent and unnoticeable, when the unit interacted. Silence was, after all, her best defense against someone discovering that she was not quite like the other transgenics. She had a gift and the best thing for all parties was to hide it.

When the other unit's escape went off without a hitch and Manticore began prodding the children to see who was likely to rebel it became obvious to the doctors that 501 was going to be a problem. They hadn't discovered her secret yet, but they were smart enough to figure out through their little psychological tests that 501 had a hankering for finding out what was going on over those walls. The girl was taken away then, kept in isolation for many years while they tried to find ways to make her tow the line. She waited, sinking into her precognitive gift in order to escape the pain of the present. Through it, she could bide her time, survive hunger, deprivation, and outright torture, until the moment arrived where she could seize freedom in one last desperate gambit.

Later on in life, 501 would muse that they had pushed her into it themselves. Their methods made her crave escape more with each passing day.

"Raina?" A voice interrupted her thoughts, and she blinked her eyes open lazily.

A man, the man they called Father, stood over her. He had once been tall and imposing, but at ninety-five years, he was stooped, shriveled into himself. His hawkish nose sat in a face that was still harshly beautiful if you could see past the ravages of time. Wrinkled skin, loose jowls… But it was still square with high cheekbones and lips pressed into a tight line; deep-set brown eyes beginning to go a little glassy. His hair was gray, but in his youth it had been a deep, rich brown. Rene Sandeman was the former Familiar whose brain had fathered an entire sub-species of human.

Leaning heavily on a cane, dressed in slacks and a long-sleeved dress shirt despite the fact that he was just relaxing at his private homestead, Sandeman spoke again. "Are you awake?" He spoke slowly, clearly, his voice hinting that he'd been an excellent orator before the emphysema set in a few years ago. Sometimes Raina needed him to enunciate. The girl, now a young woman, occasionally became so lost in visions that she forgot about the present moving forwards without her.

Sitting up, the first thing Raina noticed was that she was out on the huge, stone patio curled up in one of the chairs. Positioned as she was the afternoon sun beat down on her and sank into her bones. Memory or maybe it was her vision, told her that she had fallen asleep there, lulled into a laconic state by the springtime sun. "Yes. I'm awake," Raina finally replied and stood up.

At her full height, the X5 was taller than Sandeman's stooped form. He had made her fairly tall for a woman, five foot nine and built like a model with gentle curves and athletic musculature. Much of her DNA had come from European donors, so she had the strange, blended look of some Russian women. Something vaguely Asian in the shape of her eyes, her rounded chin and jaw. Except she was pale-skinned, like a Caucasian, perhaps by way of some Irish donor, and had eyes of a most unusual shade. They looked gray from a distance, but up close there were flecks of green and a color that some might mistake for blue but upon closer inspection were actually a pale violet. 501, who had named herself Raina, was possessed of a unnatural beauty that was as much a weapon in her arsenal as speed and strength were.

Long hair the color of a raven's wing flowed in a dark waterfall down her back, stopping just before it touched her lumbar, and had just enough wave to it so that it had some volume. A side-swept fringe nearly obscured her gaze.

She was going to ask what time it was, but even as she thought the question her gift provided the answer. It was nearly eleven o' clock, and she still had to catch a flight back to D.C. so that she could take a meeting with a senator.

Even at twenty-two, Raina still relied heavily upon her talent for far-sight to get her through life. She wasn't quite as broken as she'd been upon her arrival, but she had never found a way to fully step back into sanity either. Instead she existed on the borders, wavering between reality and the bottomless pit that was precognition. The gift provided the answers, her body played a role, but she wasn't really present for most of it. Sometimes she lost time—moments, hours, days—and some corner of her mind simply went ahead without her focusing on the minutiae. It was easier for her to simply sink into the fogginess and filter out the future rather than fighting her talents the way she had as a child.

In some distant corner of her mind, it occurred to her that it had never been this difficult to function before the torture had forced her mental retreat. There was probably a way to re-learn how to control when and where she received the visions, but her mind was no longer in practice. Whatever it was that had held the gift in check, it was gone now.

Still, Raina had managed to create a successful and fulfilling life for herself.

At fourteen, more than half-mad from torture and mind games, Raina had seen the opportunity and seized it. She managed to escape her little solitary cell, get out onto the grounds, and make it over the perimeter fence. All without raising an alarm. Her visions told her where to find Sandeman and how to get there, and when she finally made it he welcomed her with open arms. He had given her a home, an education, a future, and the time she needed to heal in order to function in all of that.

In return, she had given him her allegiance, trusting in his knowledge, his decisions because he knew what was going to happen, just not when.

The two of them, with a few transgenics that Sandeman had absconded with during their initial planning stages—not even out of the petri dish then, saw the future and manipulated the outcome of events to their advantage. The Familiars might win a few battles, but they wouldn't win the war. They wouldn't let the cult wipe out human-kind.

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TBC…


	2. Chapter 1

Lady Jezebel

Chapter One

Fandom: Dark Angel

Pairing: Alec/OFC

Rating: M

Warnings: mild violence and sensuality

Archive: Ask

Author: Lily Zen

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Notes: There are some revised bits in this chapter as well, but it's not as extensive a makeover as what went on in the prologue.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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She felt herself smile as he rutted over her, though the reaction was not due to his technique or prowess. Her body responded automatically to the stimuli, well-practiced at this art though she herself had never felt any real passion for it. It went ahead without her while her mind was truly elsewhere.

Sex focused her. It made her gift more controllable, made reality slightly more tangible. Raina understood why. Biologically speaking, she had been designed to be not only physically appealing, but also physically appealed. Sandeman thought it would make her job easier if Manticore ever ended up using her for her intended purpose, infiltration and espionage. He had even given her hopped-up pheromones to make her sex appeal nearly irresistible. The physical act of sex brought her back down into the present. The visions didn't simply inundate her with information, overload her until they were more real than what was happening. Instead, Raina reached for them, seeking specifics, and her ability responded like a tame lap dog.

Her lips parted, releasing a sound of pleasure, but it was automatic. It would arouse the man, make him finish faster, if he could hear her pleasure. The vision hit her with the force of a semi-truck, bowing her back on the hotel bed.

She saw 452, Max on some sort of rescue mission. Children with barcodes being held captive by…it took her a moment, but eventually she identified him as Ames White, Sandeman's oldest child. But it was a trap, a horrible, awful ambush.

Max had gotten careless, putting herself in danger like that.

The small group of rebel transgenics was overpowered in the face of so many Familiars.

Lady Jesus was killed, going down in a burst of gunfire, her precious blood—the precious cure—spilled on a cold, concrete floor.

Raina hesitated as her mind's eye saw another face, a familiar face on the edge of the vision, one that nipped at her heels and tried to pull memories she'd rather forget to the forefront of her thoughts. She couldn't be diverted thought. She had to know when this vision would happen, had to find a way to prevent it, and then she had to tell Sandeman.

452 was more valuable than any of them. Raina had that knowledge drilled into her head at an early age through Sandeman's teachings. Her body held the cure to the plague that would destroy humanity. Because of that and some unknown sense of loyalty, perhaps leftover from lessons at Manticore, Raina allowed him to use her like a tool to divine the future so that Max would remain alive. At least he was a kinder master than Manticore had been.

Her inner muscles shivered as an orgasm overtook her and the vision faded, but not before she got the answers she sought, and the man responded by losing all semblance of control. He shuddered and trembled while he came, and she held him gently—he was human and fragile, so it always had to be 'gently'—until he was done and rolled off to the side.

The dark-haired woman sighed pleasantly, enjoying the weight of her body and the tactile sensations she was assaulted with. For once, the fog was temporarily lifted, and she smiled brilliantly at the Senator in silent thanks.

"Do we have a deal, Senator?" she asked, her voice playful and sensuous.

"Yes, Ms. Solovieva, I believe we do."

* * *

Later on, Raina was sitting in Sandemann's office, relating all that she had seen.

He was frantic, of course. He was always frantic when it came to 452.

In some deeply hidden part of herself, she tried not to be jealous of that. She was a tool to Sandeman, a means to an end—she had always known that. Still, that did not stop her jealousy as he demonstrated his love for 452 again and again.

He proved it once more as he told her simply, "We must stop this, Raina. You know we must stop this." One day, he would damn them all with his obsession with 452.

But she simply played the good soldier and nodded. "I will see to it."

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me," Brigit stated as she bounced her oldest child on her knee. The three year old boy was smiling brightly, holding on to his Aunt Raina's hair with both hands, pretending that he was riding a horse.

"I kid you not. We must go bail 452 out of her mess before she winds up dead and the world winds up short one cure." She was smiling at the boy as he tugged at the strands of her long, black hair, indulgent.

Brigit was frowning at the prospect, dissatisfied with the turn of events. Her latest and greatest achievement was having her second child—a girl this time. Granted, she was eight months old now, but Brigit was still reluctant to leave her for any extended length of time.

"You know I'd rather have you at my back than anyone else, Brigit," Raina heard herself say, "But I can put someone else on the team, if you'd rather." Of course, she knew the effect her words would have already, had chosen them deliberately.

The young woman tucked a short strand of red hair behind one ear—a holdover pre-dating children and chin-length haircuts—and sighed. "You know I'd rather, but at the same time I do see your point. I am excellent with explosives—the best we have here. Who do you think would be on par?"

Raina shrugged, knowing that no one would be exactly on par with her demolitions expert, but kept her eyes on the young transgenic boy who was currently holding out his arms to her. Children liked her—she wasn't exactly sure why, but thought it fortunate that she liked them also. They were less complex, less demanding than adults. The children didn't care that her sense of time was hopelessly fucked up—she was their off-beat, adoring aunt who doted on them endlessly—perks of being an aunt, she supposed. All they needed from her was their needs met, and they were content.

Moving in response to her nephew's wordless plea, she plucked him from his mother's lap and cradled him on her own. He proceeded to sit on her lap and begin to tell her a story, which she animatedly pretended to pay attention to—she had seen the telling, already knew the story, and knew the appropriate responses to make.

She caught Brigit smiling at her with an odd look in her eyes, and her mouth opened, then closed as her mate's form filled the doorway. Gray was a large man with swarthy features, and gray eyes that dominated his face. He was designed for combat, and had butted heads with Raina on more than one occasion—in fact, their relationship had always been combative ever since she had arrived.

Gray had the kind of take-charge, alpha-male personality that demanded he be the one in control.

Raina, after her stint at Manticore, refused to accept orders from anyone.

After her arrival at Sandemann's hideaway, she had to fight for her place, fight not to be relegated to a subservient position—eventually she'd fought so much that she'd won the right to be _the alpha_ in the compound. That had never sat well with Gray and a few others.

Needless to say, he was a constant thorn in Raina's side, but you would never know that with the way he smiled lovingly at his mate. He was, in a word, pussy-whipped.

"Brigit," he stated and moved swiftly—and very gracefully for his size—to the petite redhead's side. His mouth swooped down and he kissed her as though he would devour her, and for the briefest instant Raina wondered what that might be like—to have a man look at you as if you held the secrets of the universe, not because you were a precognitive, but because you carried the keys to his heart and soul.

Then the thought was lost, washed away in a flood of half-formed and unimportant visions. It was safer there. Pain made her focus and she saw that Dean, Brigit and Gray's son, was yanking quite viciously at her hair.

"Yes, darling?" she asked sweetly, even as her gift provided the answers to her question.

"I said 'bye, auntie.' Daddy says it's time for dinner."

"Oh," she said and smiled distractedly, "Well, then I'll see you later." Automatically, she kissed his forehead and handed him to Gray, who looked at her seriously. "I hear you're planning a rescue of a rescue mission," the large man stated.

"Yes."

"Will I be on that team?"

She thought about it, or rather let her gift think about it. The mission would be easier with his extra muscle, but since he and Brigit had mated she had tried not to take them both out at the same time. Mates tended to let their attachments for each other get in the way of mission parameters, and—her shattered heart insisted—it would be unbearable for her if the future shifted abruptly and Dean and Abigail lost both of their parents due to her. She wondered what would happen if she took Gray instead and left Brigit behind. The resulting visions were answer enough. "No. That's not necessary."

He looked like he wanted to argue—in fact, she knew he did, so she cut him off at the pass. "Don't even start with me, Gray. I'm not in the mood."

Gray scowled at her and stalked off with his son, who waved over his father's shoulder at the two females cheerily. Raina couldn't help herself and waved back just as enthusiastically.

"You should have your own," Brigit said quietly, "So you stop borrowing mine." But there was a smile in her voice and warmth in her eyes when Raina turned back to her.

She smiled, gray-violet eyes twinkling with mirth, as she said, "Now, Brigit, I think we both know that life is not for me." I'm broken, she thought, but didn't say.

"Alright, alright," Brigit waved her hands dismissively, "Now give me more details of the mission. I assume I'm second-in-command?"

"Always."

"Fabu."

The two of them talked for long hours, planning and organizing, and come the next morning, their team was packed and ready to leave.

* * *

They came so quietly that no one noticed them, sneaking in behind the Familiars, ending their lives with silenced gunshots. No one heard over the chaos of the desperate battle taking place. Brigit and two others were setting charges at strategic points, ready to detonate as soon as Raina gave the signal.

She and her reinforcements moved through the room, dealing death in calculated moves. 452 would disapprove, she was sure, but her sight told her that she would never know. Her team would simply melt into the shadows and wait until the building was clear, and then blow it—and all the Familiars trapped within—to smithereens.

And then she got distracted.

Her eyes landed on the face, the face from her vision. It pulled at her, overwhelmed her, and abruptly that horrible raven, Memory, dropped a feather on her head. Raina stopped dead in her tracks, staring, ignoring everyone and everything around her.

She remembered Manticore, before they had broken her. Tasteless meals. Endless training. The beginnings of the brainwashing that would soon occur in abundance. Living in the barracks with her unit without regard for gender or privacy. The boy in the bunk next to hers who had terrible nightmares once the killing began; the boy whom she had found herself inexorably drawn to, compelled to ease his pain. It was too much, far too much, and she wrenched herself away from those thoughts just in time to have a quick vision catapult through her. Her stillness had cost them all, and she was going to be spotted. She whispered quickly into her earpiece, "I've been compromised. Go to Plan B."

Plan B was, essentially, fuck stealth, kill everything you can, complete the objective, and get the fuck out as fast as possible.

"Hey! Who the fuck are you?" she heard one of the Familiars yell. Just like she'd seen, she turned to face him, smirked, and blew a hole in his head. Another Familiar spotted the action and yelled, "They've got reinforcements!"

Her team burst into the fray, a flurry of fast and deadly motion.

Raina let her sight overtake her and dictate her movements. She was always one step ahead of whoever would try to harm her. The gun was more efficient, but of a small caliber. The shot needed to be precise to kill because Familiars did not feel pain, and she knew that she did not have enough time for proper aim. So the gun went back into her holster.

She took to hand-to-hand well enough, often combining moves from the different schools she had studied. Moving swiftly through the room, Raina grabbed the arm of an offender as she twisted her body just enough to let it whistle past her and broke it cleanly at the joint. Still gripping her attacker, she kicked a charging Familiar in the chest hard enough that she heard his ribs crack, and he flew back several feet. Turning back to her other opponent, the young woman slammed her palm up into his nose, sending shards of bone into his brain. His corpse dropped at her feet, instantly dead, and she whirled to deal with the next attacker.

Things were hectic. Both teams were scrambling to keep up with the fighting.

Somewhere deep inside, Raina could recognize the fact that she was alarmed. The present was moving so fast, demanding so much of her attention that she couldn't focus on the future—on everyone's future. She could only focus on her own, forcing her body to move. Though she felt frantic, her movements were fluid and swift without wasted energy.

She dispatched another attacker with seemingly cool aplomb. Brigit's voice was coming over her headset, spouting off phrases like, "What's happened?" Raina could not be bothered to explain as she was occupied with breaking someone's neck.

One by one the Familiars were ended. Her team knew to not extend mercies to their kind. The bodies stacked up all over the room haphazardly. When it finally seemed that the dust had settled, all drew a collective breath of relief.

Unknowingly, certainly unintentionally, Raina's movements had backed her far into the room, nearby the man…the male whose face tugged at forgotten memories. The muzzle of his gun swung to put her in their sights. Thinking quickly, she did the one thing she could think would make him hesitate: she pulled her hair to the side and turned.

Alec's eyes alighted on her barcode, and it had the intended effect—he dropped his gun.

But the moment had cost them dearly Raina saw in a lightning-quick vision—cost him dearly, really. She moved abruptly, sliding a couple of inches to the left, just in time to intercept the bullet with her own body.

Breath leaving her in a whoosh, fire blooming under her ribs…She wasn't aware of it, but apparently she cried out and fell to the ground. For a second, the pain was excruciating as she stared up into shocked hazel eyes, then she mercifully blacked out.

* * *

TBC…


	3. Chapter 2

Lady Jezebel

Chapter Two

Fandom: Dark Angel

Pairing: Alec/OFC

Rating: M

Warnings: hurt/comfort-ish

Archive: Ask

Author: Lily Zen

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Notes: I haven't made too many changes to this chapter. Some minor alterations with formatting is about it. Nothing horrible in here, just Raina talking with Alec and Dix.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

She woke up in an infirmary that looked like it was in a third-world country, naked. Only a thin, threadbare sheet saved her modesty. Her side seemed to spark with pain, and she groaned. Lifting the edge of the sheet, she looked down to find her side swathed in bandages. The slight pull of her skin there hinted at the existence of stitches underneath. Gunshot wound. From the placement of the bandages, Raina guessed that it had probably impacted against her ribs. They might have had some internal bleeding. If they'd cracked her open to sew up the tears, then the probably also removed the bullet while they were in there. That didn't really help her ribs, though.

The room was empty aside from her. She had probably been left to rest. It was then that Raina first began to suspect that something was wrong. She was doing an awful lot of guessing for a seer. A horrible thought was growing in the back of her mind, but she pushed it aside in favor of the practicalities.

Someone had thoughtfully left some clothing on the cot next to hers. With slow, deliberate movements, Raina stood up, disconnected herself from the IV, and dressed in a dingy white thermal shirt, and a pair of black pants that the fashionable designated for yoga.

Painstakingly, the dark haired woman left the room, and made her way down the hall with one hand supporting herself on the wall. Where were her people? Where was she? The visions wouldn't come. She felt lost, essentially flying blind. Even bats had echolocation, but she just had her hand on a cold wall and a dim circle of light at the end of the hallway.

It turned out to be the Terminal City command center.

Her feet were cold, and it was bothersome.

Hardly anyone was present in the command center. She figured it must be third shift. There was a transhuman operating a series of security monitors. Aside from that, the room was empty. Slowly, she staggered over, finding it difficult without any support. The transhuman turned, startled by her approach, revealing a monocle and a face only a mother could love (or perhaps Raina was just a bit shallow). "Holy crap, lady! You're not supposed to be up yet!"

Raina collapsed into the chair next to him, picking her feet up off the floor and hugging her knees to her chest despite the pain it caused her to do so. "When am I supposed to be up?" she asked automatically.

"Well, they pumped you with enough pain killers to have an elephant loopy for days."

"Fast metabolism." Her voice sounded husky from the long period of disuse, "Where's my team?"

"We found some space for them. They're bunked down for the night."

She nodded once, but was otherwise silent.

The transhuman continued on. "I'm Dix, by the way."

"Raina."

"Good to meet'cha. You guys really bailed us out today."

A shrug was the only response he received.

Raina watched the monitors impassively, but her mind took notes on their system of operations, an automatic cataloguing of information that might be useful in the future. It was an ingrained behavior from her time at Manticore. She and Dix sat together in the uncomfortable silence of strangers that neither wished to be the first to break. That was when Alec strode in the room looking tired and wired and too damn cute. The moment Raina's gaze flicked to him memories threatened to overwhelm her—memories that she had tried to suppress for so long. Not all were bad memories, but it seemed like those were the ones that weighed the most.

Alec looked just as startled to see her up and about as Dix had been. "Hey, ah, Raina, right?"

She nodded somewhat jerkily. Some part of her was demanding that she sit up straight, look him right in the eyes, act the part that Raina usually did. Instead, she hunkered down further in her seat feeling more lost than ever. To say that Raina's gift was an intrinsic part of her would have been an understatement. Raina was her gift. She had relied upon it for so long to be her compass, her true north, that with her gift gone she suddenly felt like a husk. Where were the winds that pulled her in all ways at once? Where were the webs that outlined the world for her—its what ifs, its maybes, its perhaps?

For the first time since she was thirteen years old, it was just Raina, and that knowledge was terrifying.

"What the hell are you doing up? You should still be in the infirmary, resting up." He pulled up a chair from nearby.

Raina shrugged and murmured, "fast metabolism," assuming that he could hear at that range. He nodded, looked at her with an inscrutable gaze a moment longer, and then turned his attention to Dix to get reports on things like supplies, the perimeter, housing, and utilities. Raina focused hard on not focusing on their words, feeling like an interloper.

A ball of fabric was shoved into her hands, which was enough to shock her out of her efforts. "What-?" she began to ask, but was interrupted as Alec spoke. "You look cold. Max would kill me if I ever offered her a sweater, but you seem more reasonable than her." He grinned sardonically and Dix made a noise of agreement.

"Thank you," Raina replied with a small, bemused smile, "Though I am not sure if I should take that as a compliment. Max is an adequate leader. She inspires and motivates. You may think she is harsh sometimes, but—" She is just scared, she finished silently, thinking that Max would not want her to share something so personal, "She is trying. Do try to remember that this situation is as new to her as it is to you." There, she'd done her good deed, pleading for clemency on Max's behalf. Hopefully it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass.

"As to whether or not I am a reasonable being, that remains to be seen," she continued with a small, dark laugh—the punch line to a joke that neither Alec nor Dix had heard. Still, she shrugged her arms into the sleeves of the sweater, leaving the rest banded across her chest. There was no way she'd be able to get the sweater over her head by herself and she found that she didn't want to ask for help. "But thank you for the use of your sweater."

"No problem," Alec returned, though he wondered why a girl with goosebumps on her arms didn't put it all the way on, "Thank you for saving our asses out there today. How'd you do it anyway? Your SIC, Brigit, tried to explain it—some gibberish about a fortune-teller and the breeding cult and I think she mentioned Sandeman, but honestly she was kind of hard to understand. She was freaked pretty bad."

Raina sighed and rubbed the skin between her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose briefly in an inwardly-focused frustration. "I don't blame her. Things didn't exactly go according to plan."

"What do you mean? The enemy was defeated, the allies are alive. Sounds like a win to me."

"Me too," Dix piped in as he typed something on a keyboard.

"Well, the plan was to be in and out with nobody the wiser that we were ever there," she said, "But I screwed up. I got distracted and we lost our advantage. We weren't supposed to make contact with you. This could alter everything." And that was the awful truth that had Raina so freaked out-the fear that maybe she couldn't see the future anymore because now she was a part of it.

"Everything?" Alec had the gumption to ask with a smirk and a snicker, "Being a little melodramatic, don't you think?"

"No!" Fueled by her emotions, Raina found the strength to flick his ear, "You don't get it! There's no fucking fortune-teller! There's just me and my vision is broken! What am I going to do?" Her voice was taking on a hysterical pitch she'd never heard before. Without her vision, she was useless. Sandeman might get rid of her, she'd be reduced to someone's beta or theta, all her hard work would fall apart like a house of cards…all because her vision was broken.

Then Alec grabbed her flailing hands in his and tugged them close to his chest. It was like he'd flipped a switch inside of her that she had no idea existed. Everything stopped. His eyes bored into hers. "Calm down," he said with such firm authority, "You're freaking out. I can't help you if I don't understand the problem."

She nodded slowly, her pace matching the even, measured tones of his voice. Her strange colored eyes landed on his ear, watching guiltily as it turned red. "Sorry I flicked your ear."

Alec looked surprised, and then he grinned. "That's okay. I've had much worse. Though I'm starting to think I should take back that 'reasonable' comment. You're right; it might've been too soon for that."

Raina startled herself by laughing quietly.

"Now start at the beginning," Alec told her.

"It's a very good place to start," she sang quietly with a smile. Then her expression turned serious. "I suppose the beginning is genetic splicing and a petri dish, the same as it is for all of us. Each one of us has a similar basic skill set encoded into our DNA. Then we're given extras—like being really good with technology or hypnosis or having an eidetic memory. My DNA was primarily taken from people with a pre-cognitive ability, especially those who've had the ability run in their family for generations. Sandeman wanted to see if he could create someone who could tell the future—a Pythia, for lack of a better term. Well, it worked, and he ended up with me. Except he had to cover up what he'd done from the higher-ups—things would have been really, really bad for me if he didn't. So I was given a secondary protocol designed for…"

Raina sighed gustily, eyeing both Dix, who was paying rapt attention to her story, and Alec, who was still holding her hands. He didn't even seem to notice that he was doing it. "I really hate telling people this. It makes me feel cheap. My secondary protocol is called a Mata Hari—a spy with special skills in seduction, persuasion, infiltration; that sort of thing. I have an eidetic memory to help with that, which is also convenient when I get visions. Not that I can't fight. I can. I mean, we all can. It's just not my area of focus.

"So, yeah, I get visions of the future and the past, which comes in handy a lot. It's how I knew about your mission going sideways. Okay, and um, I left Manticore when I was like…fourteen or fifteen?" Memories got fuzzy for her around that time. "The gift, you know, helped me get out without raising any alarms. I've been living with Sandeman since, refining my gift, and let me tell you, I'm really very good, but ever since I woke up in your infirmary, it's been quiet. That's never happened before, and I feel really weird because I have no idea if I should even be telling you this, but I feel like I have to tell somebody or my head's going to implode."

She took a deep breath then, grinning, and released Alec's hands with a gentle pat. "Thank you two for being such good listeners." She blew a kiss to Dix in thanks and had the pleasure of seeing him turn a unique shade of lilac—she guessed that was his version of a blush. It was actually…kind of cute, in an odd way. Nice to know that her effect on men wasn't limited in any way.

"Maybe it's your injury," Dix suggested, "Or the drug's residual effects."

Raina's eyes widened as a hopeful smile fluttered across her face. "Do you think so? Oh, I hope so. Nothing like this has ever happened before. I'm used to being kind of omniscient—without the second sight I really do feel quite naked."

Alec gently patted her knee and said, "Cheer up. Dix is probably right. You'll be back to normal—well, normal for you—in no time."

He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling, a little sparkle of humor in those hazel-green irises…

…and Raina tried not to remember.

* * *

_He smiled at her shyly as she flicked her eyes between him and his untouched orange. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. _

_Then she grinned widely, scooted closer, and whispered in his ear, "I'll trade you my cookie for your orange." _

_He raised his eyebrows at her incredulously. "Why? Cookies are better than oranges." _

_Her thin shoulders shrugged once, slightly, not wanting to draw too much attention to their interaction. "I like oranges better." She had a longer explanation, things about Vitamin C and immunities, but knew if the guards heard her speaking in such a manner that questions would be asked. They might take her to the doctors, call her defective._

_The boy eyed her curiously still, but slowly plopped his orange onto her lunch tray. In exchange, she nudged her cookie onto his, and proceeded to peel her orange contently. _

_Despite having been in the same unit since birth, it was the first real interaction between 494 and 501._

* * *

_When they began bringing in live prisoners for their unit to eliminate, he started to have nightmares. _

_The other members of their unit ignored his noises and flailing, but 501 was concerned. She knew that if the guards found out they would call him defective and take him away. The doctors in their white clothes and latex gloves would surround him on the silver table. That knowledge caused the girl pain. _

_Late one night, 501 silently left her cot and crawled underneath 494's blanket—she hated those blankets; they were rough and made her skin itchy—as he twitched with the beginnings of his nightmare. That way she would be hidden should a guard unexpectedly come into the room. 501 didn't see anything of the sort but that didn't mean that they future couldn't change at the drop of a hat._

_So quietly, she whispered, "Wake up." _

_Like magic, he was startled into consciousness, breathing hard and with the remnants of fear clouding his features. _

"_It's okay, just a dream. You can go back to sleep now." Her voice was so light that he almost couldn't hear it. _

_He shook his head negatively, and it was then that she noticed 494 was trembling. She was worried that it was a seizure, and she took him in her arms hesitantly, holding him close, trying to minimize his movements so that the guards would not claim him and take him away forever. The boy stilled immediately, shocked at her actions. Manticore highly discouraged physicality, other than fighting. "What are you _doing_?" he whispered furtively._

_Realizing her error, 501 also froze. "I don't—" She reached for her gift automatically to provide answers. When it did, the girl simply shrugged and said, "Helping." In her mind's eye, she saw images of people holding each other, providing comfort and warmth. Random snippets of things that would happen, had happened, all over the globe. Sometimes the people were sad and hurt, other times happy, loved, content. Her hands tugged him closer still, snuggling his body to her like a favorite toy (though they did not have such things at Manticore). His head came to rest on her flat chest, and he turned automatically so that he could breathe easier. _

_He was stiff at first, unyielding, not knowing how to accept the comfort his unit-mate had offered him. "How is this helping?" _

"_Shut up," the little girl stated blandly. Her gift directed her hands, rubbing circles on his back, massaging his head and neck—age-old gestures of comfort and soothing that 501 knew only through her gift. _

_The boy relaxed slowly as her maternal touch eased him back into sleep, his eyelids growing heavier by the moment. His voice, when it came, was slurred and accompanied by a yawn. "Thanks." _

_501's smile was resplendent in the dark, though no one was there to see it, and when her sensitive ears heard the guard coming down the hall to check on them, she slipped from his bunk back to her own._

* * *

When Raina refocused, Alec was staring at her strangely.

It was a toss-up which was more intense for her—the sudden influx of memories best left undisturbed or the visions. Right at that moment, a grounded 501 would probably have said the memories, because she'd lived them already. Visions could be fickle—sometimes more real than reality, other times hazy and half-formed. A memory's needle always pricked sharp.

So Raina looked right back at Alec, stupefied by her own mind, eyes searching for traces of the boy she'd known in Manticore. She could see though that he did not recognize her, not one little bit. Their strange bond in the unit was gone, erased by the things Manticore had done to him, to both of them.

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips nervously, and then her eyes slid away. In that moment, she'd already decided not to say a word about the fact that they had once known each other. He didn't remember, probably thanks to Psy Ops, and she didn't want to bear the burden of those years alone.

* * *

TBC…


	4. Chapter 3

Lady Jezebel

Chapter Three

Fandom: Dark Angel

Pairing: Alec/OFC

Rating: M

Warnings: slight sensuality between minors

Archive: Ask

Author: Lily Zen

* * *

Notes: Major changes in this chapter. Introduced a few new characters.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

"You okay?" Alec questioned, absently squeezing her hands.

"Fine," Raina replied, her voice cool while she tried to casually withdraw said hands.

Alec looked surprised and a little sheepish when he released them.

"You look a little tired," Dix noted while his shrewd gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them, "Maybe you ought to get some rest."

"No offense, but I don't think I could sleep in your infirmary. It reminds me of this time in Uzbekistan." A wry grin spread across her face and all three transgenics shared a look of understanding. They all had memories like that.

"Alright, well, let me show you where the rest of your people are bunked down," Alec stated and heaved himself up off the chair, "And we'll get you a place to sleep too." He started moving swiftly towards the door, hardly sparing Raina a glance as she moved deliberately slow so as not to aggravate her wound into a standing position.

"Alec, why don't you get some sleep and let those of us with shark parts handle the tour?"

Raina glanced up and locked eyes with Max, leaning casually against the doorjamb, for the first time in reality. She smiled. Max remained stone-faced. She tried not to take offense—she may have known everything worth knowing about Max, but Max had no idea who she was. The realization sobered her expression.

"Ah, well," Alec rubbed a hand wearily over the back of his head, "If you're sure, Maxie."

"I'm sure." She spared him a small smile.

"Then I guess I'll leave you in Max's more than capable hands," Alec said to Raina. The dark haired woman just nodded and took small steps in Max's direction. Subconsciously, her eyes followed his retreating form as he slipped out the door.

"Come on," Max said with a jerk of her head. She walked quickly and with purpose, and Raina struggled to keep up. "So Sandeman sent you guys, I guess?"

"Yes," Raina replied between sharp puffs of air.

When Max noticed how soft her voice was, she slowed down and looked back at Raina, who was almost seven feet behind her. She shook her head back and forth, saying, "You shouldn't be walking around if you're that injured." Striding back towards the injured woman, Max slung an arm over her shoulders and intoned, "Lean on me. I've got'cha. Hell, I'll carry you if it'll make this process go faster."

"I don't like to be carried."

"Figures. Must be an X5 thing."

"Guess so."

They didn't talk for a bit as Raina simply focused on walking. Putting one foot in front of the other sounded like an easy task in theory, but each step jarred her rib cage and aggravated her healing wound. Her recovery rates were good, really good, but not instantaneous. What she needed was to sleep and eat a hearty meal, then sleep some more so that the pluripotents in her blood stream could do their thing. In a few days, Raina would feel right as rain.

"You know I've got a lot of questions for you," Max said as they made slow progress down the hall. Her words were abruptly spoken, startling Raina from her thoughts.

"I would assume so," Raina stated.

"But I think I'll get more out of you tomorrow," she added as Raina listed to the side.

"Probably."

They turned a corner and walked a few more feet before Max kicked open a door. Shifting Raina's weight from one arm to the other, they managed to get over the threshold and to the edge of the full sized mattress on the floor. Max eyed her face, pinched up with pain, with an expression bordering on trepidation. "I'm not sure how to set you down without hurting you," she admitted finally.

Raina let out a laugh that turned into a sigh. "There is no way. Just let go."

So she did.

She fell backwards quickly, catching herself on her elbows with a grimace—she would have yelped, except that required abdominal movement, something that Raina was trying to avoid at all costs-and scooted so she was on the bed in a somewhat proper fashion. "Thanks," she stated while she pulled a quilt over herself.

"No problem. It's kind of an on-call room. Everybody naps in here."

"Hope that doesn't mean I'm sleeping in someone else's sweat."

Max laughed. "Nah, the sheets get changed every morning. Have a good night. Tomorrow I'm going to grill you like a steak."

The door shut with a loud bang but Raina was already out cold.

* * *

Alec loved women.

He had always loved women as far back as he could remember; their softness, their scent, and a thousand other things. Of course, thanks to his stints in re-indoctrination and Psy. Ops., he didn't remember all too far back.

In his waking hours, he preferred stupid blondes. If he were to analyze that, he'd tell you it was because every important woman in his life was a brunette—Rachel, Max. He grew attached to brunettes, and in an effort to avoid that he chose to sleep with blondes and the occasional redhead.

However, sleep often left one's subconscious mind with free reign, and sometimes when he dreamed, he dreamed of a girl who looked like a piece of night come to life.

* * *

_He was marching the perimeter of the compound when he smelled it—the most wonderful, enticing scent that had ever invaded his nostrils. _

_His mind hurriedly catalogued it as flowers, honey, sunshine, and… There it seemed to draw a blank, because there most definitely was something else to the scent than that. Another layer of complication to it. _

_The scent stripped his thoughts of duty and discipline and urged him to follow it. _

_He did so without a backwards glance, slipping into the woods like a ghost. Moving quickly and silently, 494 used his instincts, not his training, to track down the source of the intoxicating scent. _

_Stopping abruptly, 494 felt his eyes widen comically at what he'd found. _

_A girl stood poised on the other end of the small clearing like she'd frozen mid-motion. Her skin was alabaster and the only stitch of clothing she wore was an oversized white button-down shirt that came down to her thighs. _

_His breath halted and his mind concluded that she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Granted, he was only fifteen, and he hadn't seen all that much besides Manticore yet. Nostrils flaring, he took in the scent again—_her _scent. Finally, he had the missing piece of the puzzle: flowers, honey, sunshine, and _female_. He felt himself harden in a rush that left him a little light-headed. _

_She shifted minutely, swaying towards and then away from him as though she was fighting her own reaction. He knew if he moved wrong, she'd run, and he didn't think he could _not_ chase her if she did that. _

_It hit him in a rush then. They'd had sex education already. Heat. This was heat—a female X5's mating cycle. He'd heard whispers that a few of the females had started, though they had endured their cycles in isolation and sedation. Why wasn't this one undergoing the same procedure? _

_He recognized that her scent—her pheromones, his mind corrected—were working quickly, rapidly neutralizing his rational mind. His body was moving ahead without him, slowly circling towards the female. _

_He _wanted_. He _needed_._

_As 494 drew closer to his quarry, he noticed that her eyes were kind of a smoky violet color that reminded him of something, someone. It tugged at a memory that refused to be called forth. Inhaling again, the boy began to notice that a low sound was rumbling in his chest. _

_She shifted as he closed in on her, facing him with a slight smile on lips that looked so full and inviting. He held out a hand, palm up, as though to say 'I won't hurt you.' The girl hesitated, then slowly entangled her fingers with his. _

_Vaguely, he noted that her skin was so, so soft. He struck fast, like a cobra, as his hand closed around hers and tugged her to him swiftly, entangling her slender form in his arms. The girl let out a noise of surprise, her eyes large and luminous, and squirmed against him, which only made him hold her tighter. _

_One hand found its way into her long, dark hair, marveling at the texture. "Please," she whispered as she looked up at him, and he loved the way her voice slithered down his spine like a caress. Her hand grasped the front of his camouflage jacket and his head lowered in response. It felt like the world was holding its breath in that endless moment as the boy and girl stared at each other, inches apart. _

_Ironically, it was her patience that snapped first as her heat cracked its whip within her once more and spurred her into action. _

_Suddenly, he felt her rise up on her toes and press her mouth to his. _

_His eyes closed automatically at the enormity of the moment, and just as he was gathering the courage to try and kiss her back everything went black._

* * *

That dream haunted him, made him ache in his sleep for a girl who looked like night and smelled like sunshine.

Of course, when he woke in the morning, hard and needy, he never remembered her.

Manticore had made sure of that.

* * *

Hours later, Raina flinched in her sleep and jolted awake. She could've sworn that she had heard a loud bang, like a door being flung open, but her eyes locked on the still-closed door.

Voices trickled in the room from the hallway and the sound of steady steps moving ever closer. Raina closed her eyes, trying to will a vision forward, but none would come. The door flew open and crashed into the wall with a loud bang. She flung herself up into a ready stance, despite the immediate resurgence of pain, and then cursed herself for her silliness as she locked eyes with a startled looking Brigit.

"Hey…" the redhead drawled, "What's up, Raina? Hope you don't mind. Me 'n Gus wanted to check on you ourselves." Casually, Brigit waved a hand at the tall example of WASP-y good looks next to her. Gus was one of their team mates who excelled in field medicine and was actually enrolled in medical school. He'd been designed for speed and stealth, so his body was more streamlined than most combat models, the muscles more sinuous than bulky. In fact, his body type was very close to 494's. Gus had dishwater blond hair that he kept short in back and a little longer on top so that he could style it into haphazard spikes, and the bluest eyes Raina had ever seen and when he smiled his cheeks winked with dimples.

Gus had always been a strong supporter for Raina since she'd been with Sandeman. He wasn't an alpha, would never be an alpha, and so he needed a strong alpha as a leader. It didn't really help his case that Gus had chosen to mate with a human male. Since their little band of X5s was a little more 'law of the jungle' than the Manticore progeny, the fact that Gus was gay, not as physically strong, nor emotionally dominant as some of the other males put his status in serious need of protection. Gray, Raina's biggest rival for the alpha position, was more of the opinion that the status quo was correct: that Gus was weaker or defective because he was different. Raina, who had much more important things to worry about than who warmed whose bed, didn't really care. Gus was smart, loyal, and had useful skills. He had proven himself to her time and again over the years, so she had no reason to doubt him. If somebody in the group picked a fight with Gus, they picked a fight with Raina the Omniscient as well.

"Hi, Gus," Raina stated as her body relaxed, hands dropping to her sides, "Thanks for the prompt medical attention."

"No problem," he replied with obvious relief in his voice. A dazzling smile broke out on his face, those devastating dimples flashing, "Glad you're okay."

The dark haired woman nodded succinctly. "So…?"

Brigit shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "No orders?"

"Um…"

"It's okay," she back-tracked, "If you need more downtime, we understand. Right, Gus?" Her elbow none-too-gently met his ribs.

"Oof. Right. Wouldn't mind a little leave of absence while we're in Seattle."

"Then consider your request granted," Raina sighed, "Feel free to spread the word. I want everybody back here in twenty-four hours ready to go though. Ask the TC residents how to get out of here safely."

"Yes, ma'am," he answered smartly, and turned on his heel to leave.

The two women locked eyes when he was gone, though Brigit broke eye contact first to look around the room. "My place wasn't much better," she said, "Though it did have a little more personality than this."

"Mm."

"Okay, what's your deal?" Brigit asked bluntly as she plopped on the unmade bed.

Raina sighed and leaned against the wall. "My vision is broken."

The redhead's hair flew as she whipped her head back and forth. "No, yesterday during the mission; what happened?"

"I saw…somebody I used to know. It distracted me just long enough."

"Oh. Who?"

501 combed a hand through her hair, roughly tugging at the strands of her normally side swept bangs. It was a gesture of frustration and nerves, and not something that Brigit had ever seen her do. "I don't want to talk about it."

Brigit's gaze sharpened with interest at her superior's out of character behavior, but she did not pursue the topic any further. Instead, she switched subjects altogether. "You said your vision's broken."

"Yes," Raina punctuated the single word with a sharp nod of her head, "Since I woke up in the infirmary."

"That's not good."

"That's an understatement," she replied with a wry half-smile.

"Well, maybe it's because of whatever they gave you last night," Brigit suggested hopefully.

Her foot wriggled anxiously—Raina very badly wanted to pace, but knew the pain wouldn't be worth the effort. "That's already been suggested, but that should be well out of my system now. I think…I think maybe…" She growled under her breath and tugged at her hair again.

"What? The suspense is killing me, Raina!" Brigit burst forth with a moment later.

"Nevermind. It's a stupid thought—makes no sense whatsoever." Her hand made a pointed gesture of dismissal, except her mind didn't stop thinking it. Maybe, she thought, maybe seeing Alec had temporarily moored her to the present and shut her off from her gift. That made no sense though. There was nothing to scientifically support that thought, so Raina dismissed it as silly romanticism.

The petite redhead groaned, then conceded, "Fine. Whatever. But we need to call Sandeman and let the old bag know what happened. He's probably losing what little hair he has left worrying about 452. Speaking of, she wants to talk to us when you feel up to it. Maybe we should go get something to eat first though. You look about ready to tear a strip out of something."

"I feel about ready to tear a strip out of something," she admitted reluctantly.

They left the room together and followed the general flow of traffic to the makeshift mess hall. It was at a particular time of day where the canteen was relatively empty, most of the other transgenics having already begun their tasks for the day. There were the scattered persons lounging about the room, scarfing down whatever the cooks had managed to dredge up for the day's meal. They stopped at a table where some of their people had gathered for meal time.

"Hey, boss," a female voice drawled, and her companion gave a little salute that was little more than a finger touched to the brim of his navy knitted cap. The other woman at the table was silent, but offered a smile instead of words.

"Hi, Charlie. Louis, Anahita," she replied and sat carefully.

Brigit looked around the table, patted Raina on the shoulder and said, "I'll be back."

"Okay," Raina agreed and settled in to wait. Anahita, the silent woman, looked up from her tray with a concerned expression. She had the handsome good looks of a Native American woman and was a tiny little thing like Max, made for stealth and acrobatics. However, she had a gentle soul and was more likely to be found puttering in the garden than playing war games. Which wasn't to say that she couldn't do it, only that she'd rather be gardening.

"How are you feeling?" Anahita finally asked.

"I'll be fine," Raina replied and tried to smile.

Charlie snorted. "I gotta say, boss, you look like shit." Charlie was the woman who'd first spoken. Her given name was actually Charlotte, but she preferred to go by Charlie. She was one of the three transgenics that their crew referred to as the Trouble Trio. Her hair was dyed blue, but it was a dye job so good that it almost looked natural with highlights and lowlights and everything. Natural, that is, if hair could be blue. Her eyes were brown, her skin a kind of creamy color. Charlie wore deep purple lipstick and had her labret pierced. One little silver ball caught the light underneath her lower lip, and the back of it curved up out of her mouth and hooked over the top of it, making an almost complete circle. She had other piercings and tattoos, including full sleeves and a dragon that started on her right shoulder blade and ended on her collarbone.

Charlie was forever trying to convince Raina that she'd look hot with a little metal too, but with her career, Raina couldn't afford such frivolity with her appearance.

Similar to Raina, Charlie was tall, but had more curves than the other X5. She was well-muscled; one of the female combat models. Her particular skills lay in communications and electronics, though she was also quite handy with different modes of transportation. Raina suspected it stemmed from her ability to understand anything with mechanical components.

"Thanks, Charlie. I know," Raina drawled, rolling her eyes, and Louis laughed.

"Stop putting your foot it in, Char," Louis shook his head. He was another of the infamous trio. Like Charlie, he had a fondness for ink, though most of his was on his back, easily hidden under a shirt. Unlike Charlie, aside from that Louis tended to blend in a little more. He kept his hair his natural color—brown with sort of a reddish tint to it—and kept it appropriately cut. Not too long, but not short either. If they needed him for an undercover op, it was relatively easy. He slicked his hair back, put on a suit, and Louis was your every-day handsome business man. Aside from a fondness for male jewelry—no piercings, just jewelry—he could have been anyone.

The third member of the trio was back at home, and it was strange even to Raina to see the other two without their third friend, Johnny.

"You look beautiful, Raina," Louis said with a slick, panty-dropping smile, "Ignore her. If this were Troy, your face would launch a thousand ships." He winked, long, dark lashes fluttering closed over one very green iris for an instant. Raina laughed lightly.

"Thanks, Louis. You certainly know how to make a woman feel appreciated."

Louis was one of the males not intimidated by her controlling behavior. They maintained a friendly rapport, and he flirted madly with her. Secretly, Raina thought that perhaps was he attracted to power. She kind of wondered if he was into S&M. That seemed like something the Trouble Trio would dabble in all too readily.

Brigit came back then holding a tray in either hand and shot a look at the table's occupants. "If you can find a way out, Raina's granted a twenty-four hour leave." Louis and Charlie shared a look of devious excitement, and Anahita looked heavenward as though she was praying for patience. Then the tanned woman touched Raina's hand and smiled softly. "I hope you feel better quickly," she said and slid out of her seat.

The tiny SIC plunked herself in the vacated chair.

"Bye, Raina," Louis stated as he stood and planted a kiss on the top of her head, "Thanks for the leave."

"Bye, Raina," Charlie echoed cheerily, and Raina hoped they wouldn't do anything stupid. The two of them left after disposing of the trays, arms linking. Charlie began singing, "We're off to see the wizard…"

After they were gone, Raina glanced down at a rather unappetizing looking plate of baked beans, some kind of mystery meat in gravy, and canned fruit salad.

She looked sidelong at Brigit and stated wryly, "Somebody's been eating army food for far too long. I have a feeling that I shall be positively longing for steak au jus by the time we leave."

For a moment Brigit just looked at her, slightly startled, and then she began laughing uproariously. "God, me too. Sign me up for that meal."

"What meal?" A voice asked over their shoulders. Both women glanced back, Brigit subconsciously reaching for a gun that wasn't there. Raina just smiled, recognizing the voice instantly.

"Good morning, Alec," she replied, "We are discussing prime rib for dinner when we return, perhaps with rosemary garlic potatoes, and zucchini. I am very partial to zucchini. Your thoughts on the matter?"

Alec smiled charmingly and slung a companionable arm over her shoulders. "Take me with you?" he asked, his voice taking on the sweet, pleading tones of a forlorn little boy left at home while his parents went on vacation. Raina chuckled, sighed and said, "I'm afraid your place is here, Mr. McDowell. Despite your somewhat cantankerous relationship with our dear Max, she is quite reliant on you as her SIC. Though I'm sure you already knew that." Her eyebrow arched in a silent question, and Alec sighed dramatically.

"Yeah, yeah," he drawled, "She'd be lost without me."

"Or dead," Raina replied cheerily. Alec plunked himself in the chair between them with the effortless grace that all X5s seemed to possess, sliding his own plate onto the table.

"You know that for a fact, oh clairvoyant one?" he asked, spooning baked beans into his mouth, but his hazel eyes stayed on her face as he did so. It was almost unnerving. Almost. Except Raina had nerves of steel and had been trained by the best to resist interrogation. She shrugged casually and stated, "I know you've saved her ass more than once."

"Because you saw it?"

"Precisely." She calmly placed her paper napkin in her lap and began eating fruit salad with a plastic fork. Her manners were impeccable, presenting an amusing contrast to their shabby surroundings.

Alec snorted through his nose, eloquently expressing his unwillingness to believe such things. He may have listened the night before, but upon further thought he found it a little far-fetched that someone could see the future. Brain was the closest thing that Alec believed to be possible, and that was all stats and probs. Psy Ops had some pretty weird stuff going on in there, like Mia with her telehypnosis-suggestion crap. Except, again, that was science: brain waves and whatnot. Precognition was just…that was just nutty.

Brigit smiled and stated quietly, "Believe it. I've lived with Raina since we were fifteen; I have seen plenty of demos of her abilities."

"Only fifteen?" Alec asked the redhead. She shrugged her slim shoulders and then nodded as her mouth was stuffed with mystery meat. "Fifteen?" he repeated, turning to Raina, who also nodded.

After she'd swallowed her food, she answered, "I left Manticore at fifteen."

He frowned. "You mean escaped?"

"Semantics," she replied with an I-couldn't-care-less tone, "But yes."

"How'd you do that? I don't remember hearing about it."

Raina flicked her fluorite-colored eyes back up from her mystery meat, met his, and he smiled at the thread of smugness evident there. "I'm just that good. Of course, I did have an edge."

"Your gift," Alec voiced, still with that disbelieving tone of his.

The dark haired X5 just rolled her eyes saying, "Believe it or not, I don't care."

For a short time everyone merely concentrated on their food, and then it was as though Alec's curiosity couldn't be stifled any longer. He looked up from his plate, eyeing the dark haired woman. Raina looked up from her meal, locking her fluorite eyes with his. They seemed to sparkle with humor and a non-verbal 'what?' Opening his mouth to speak, he found he was struck with the oddest sense of déjà vu, almost like they had sat like this before. Except that was impossible, because he was positive he'd never seen her before. He would have remembered her anywhere. Unlike most X5s who seemed designed to blend in, it looked like Raina had been designed to stand out, to make jaws drop when she walked by smelling sweet and warm—the way women only smell in your dreams. He definitely would have remembered that.

Which put his thought train back on track…

"I don't remember you from Manticore, but you're definitely an X5," Alec began, "What unit were you in?"

Raina schooled her features carefully to give nothing away. Shoulders tensing, she shrugged. "I was a bad soldier. They kept me in isolation for a long time, and since I'm the only one of my specific model type, nobody noticed I was missing. Eventually I used my gift to find a way out." Technically, it wasn't a lie; it was more of a half-truth. Those _were_ the bare bones of her story at Manticore. No one needed to know the intimate details of her time at that horrid place. Those were for her alone.

"And you didn't trip _any_ alarms?" Alec asked incredulously.

Brigit gave him a _look_ and stated, "Second sight, dumbass. How many times do you need to hear it?" For her part, Raina just merely nodded in agreement with her SIC and kept eating. She was uncomfortable as she had always disliked lying unless it was absolutely necessary, and was even more against lying to the few people she genuinely respected. And while Alec was not necessarily a current friend or even a lapsed one as he didn't remember being her friend in the first place, he still qualified as someone she respected.

Alec made a noncommittal response, and Raina sighed unnoticeably, dragging her fork through the fruit salad syrup in curlicues. The canteen was turning into the place she wanted to flee the most right then. She would've almost welcomed Max's upcoming brusque interrogation, but she was pretty sure that she was going to come to regret that stupid thought.

* * *

TBC…


	5. Chapter 4

Lady Jezebel

Chapter 4

Rating: M

Author: Lily Zen

* * *

Notes: I feel proud as I am starting this chapter, not only because it seems that LJLJ is garnering a positive response (which is always encouraging when one is putting their writing on the internet), but because I also planned out how I want the rest of the story to go. This may come as a shock, but I hardly ever have a definitive plan when I start writing. I have a thought or an idea that I want to express or simply a good concept for the beginning of a story, and then I just go with it. Rarely is there a planned outcome and often the story ends up deviating from what I had originally intended entirely (as this story did last night when I was thinking of the direction I wanted it to take). However, I feel that this new plot line will serve us all rather well.

Disclaimer: Dark Angel belongs to um…people not me. Raina and all other original concepts and characters are mine, and I would appreciate it if no one would try to poach them.

* * *

They found Max in the central hub of TC, which seemed to be her standard stomping grounds. She flicked her eyes at Raina, Brigit, and Alec, and made a quick one fingered gesture designed to summon them over. Raina had to fight not to balk at the imperious command. It had been a long time since she'd taken orders from anyone, and it didn't suit now any better than it had at Manticore. Frowning, possibly even scowling, she walked over to Max's side.

It was only then that she noticed Max speaking to someone on a webcam, a man who was attractive in a bookish sort of way. He looked like the broody, intellectual type; the kind of guy who would memorize poetry and talk about philosophy. Logan Cale was a genteel man, an idealist, someone who lived and would die by his principles.

He was also Max's long-time quasi-boyfriend, though with the DNA-targeted virus gone, things looked to be heading in a more concrete direction.

Raina tried not to fidget, ruthlessly suppressing her impatience. Still, she gave Brigit a look that eloquently expressed her exasperation at being not only summoned but made to wait.

The redhead's lips twitched as she fought back a smile. With Raina's gift gone, she was beginning to see a whole new side to the alpha in their strange little pack of X5s.

Alec just dropped himself into the nearest chair and kicked his feet up, as comfortable as if he'd been in his own living room.

Max and Logan finished their discussion—something about new equipment. The hacker tacked on a 'see you Friday' as they disconnected. Then the formidable X5 female turned her attention to them. "So, let's get this out of the way," she began brusquely, "I'm Max. You're Raina; you work for Sandeman. What exactly is it that you do for him?"

Brigit fell into an alert stance at the other woman's tone, one hand clasping the other wrist in front, feet planted evenly. It was a bodyguard's demeanor, and Raina took unexpected comfort in the knowledge that Brigit was prepared to go to bat for her. Not that Raina couldn't fight her own battles, of course.

For her part, Raina stood even straighter, managing to look regal and dignified despite appearing bedraggled from the fight the night before, being injured, and wearing the same clothes she'd slept in. She affected a pleasant expression as she answered. "Primarily, I serve as Sandeman's advisor, though occasionally I do go outside of that limited role. Last night was one such occasion. I do, however, also have another job, one that operates in a completely unrelated capacity. I am not merely Sandeman's pet precog." Something in her drove her to add the last sentence, though she knew she shouldn't. However, something unsettling was going on somewhere deep down inside of Raina, a feeling that she'd never truly bothered to analyze before.

Inadequacy?

No, that wasn't it…

"What's a precog?" Max barked when Raina accidentally let the term slip.

She stiffened even more, if possible. Alec hadn't believed her, he had merely indulged in her feminine hysterics (something that she was secretly infuriated with); she found it difficult to hope that Max's reaction would be any less incredulous. Still, she was obliged to answer and with the impassivity of a Merriam-Webster Dictionary, she did so. "It is a type of clairvoyance relating to events that have not yet come to pass."

"In English?" 452 prompted, frowning.

Raina sighed long-sufferingly, rolled her eyes, and responded with, "I can see the future."

However, her mind was still preoccupied with introspection.

Was that strange feeling embarrassment? Was she secretly degraded by the things she did for Sandeman and the cause? A small hesitation before she could come up with the answer indicated that yes, she was, at least a little bit, but that wasn't quite it.

Max's lips twitched like she wanted to smile. Raina caught the movement regardless and felt her teeth bear in a smile that wasn't exactly friendly. Then another thought seemed to occur to Max. "You mean like Brain could? Analyzing statistics and probabilities?"

The black haired woman shook her head in the negative. "No. To be honest, mathematics is not really my strong suit," her smile changed into something that was both sheepish and proud, "Really; I just see the future, and sometimes the past, now that I think on it. The term for that is 'retrocognition,' just in case you were curious."

And for the first time since they'd met, Max smiled, for some reason finding Raina's punctilious vocabulary lesson amusing. "Is there a word for seeing the present?"

"Of course there is," Raina replied in a voice that indicated she thought the question was silly, "'Clairvoyance,' which I mentioned earlier." There was an undertone of disdain in her words which she couldn't seem to completely squelch. Why was she acting this way?

Max winced at the subtle insult, though she couldn't be sure whether it was directed towards her listening skills or her intelligence, then chuckled and stated, "Guess I had that coming, hey?" It was then that Raina finally nailed down the strangeness in her behavior, and possibly even Max's…

She and Max were both true alpha females. They may both look like humans, but they weren't, not really. They were part animal, mostly feline. Cats were solitary animals, territorial. Lion prides were pretty much the exception to that rule, though even there, there was a strict hierarchy: there was only one alpha female. So naturally, now that two true alpha females were forced into close quarters with each other tension was developing. It was the animal urge to challenge each other, to test one another in order to discover who would be dominant to the other. A distant part of her recalled similar tension between 453 and herself.

Of course, it didn't really help that her heat cycle was coming soon—wait, what?

She did a very quick mental calculation and almost could have punched herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid… Normally Raina was extremely well-prepared for her heat cycles. She had long ago worked out a schedule (being a precog was useful in more than one aspect), and was always very good about getting the hell out of dodge long before her pheromones ever became noticeable to others, except getting injured had put her behind schedule, and now she was going to have to hurry to get to safety. She probably had a few hours, maybe…

"Raina?" Brigit's voice broke through Raina's sudden and very quiet horror. She looked up at her SIC, and whatever the redhead saw in her eyes clearly wasn't comforting. "What is it? Did you see something?"

"No, still in the midst of a dry spell; I just remembered something really important. Remind me to tell you later." Brigit nodded succinctly and fell back into bodyguard-stoicism. As Raina shifted her attention back to Max, she caught Alec's gaze. She wondered exactly how much time she had before the shift in her hormones became substantial enough that it began to affect others. Shit.

"Anything I need to know?" Max asked with that slightly hostile edge to her tone, and Raina decided that Max was definitely feeling the urge to challenge her for dominance.

"No," the seer responded decisively, "However, you should probably know that your innate dislike of me is not necessarily your instincts telling you that I am untrustworthy."

Max seemed at a loss for words, but she tried anyway. "How…?"

At that Raina grinned. "Despite your disbelief regarding my abilities, because of it I am very well acquainted with who you are, and how you think and react. What you're feeling is an animal instinct that is telling you to fight me for dominance. In the wild, if we were merely cats, we would simply get it over with which would most likely end in one of us being eviscerated and consumed. As appealing as that image currently is, we are held in check by our humanity, thereby reducing us to verbal barbs. In the interest of making this as pleasant an encounter as possible, I will try to curb this, and I hope you will too."

The brunette X5 processed all of that information silently. Then she cursed out loud and muttered, "Goddamn Manticore and their fucking gene splicing."

"Agreed," Raina chirped, "Look, already we have found common ground." She gave Max a small, gamine smile, working extra hard at a gesture that normally would have come so easily to her. Play the part, she growled at herself silently. She needed to hurry all this up and get the fuck out of Terminal City before…well, before bad things happened. She'd seen males fight each other before when a female went into heat just to get to her; once, they'd had to taze a male to keep him from raping an unwilling female. And that was within the relatively small confines of the thirty-one X5s Sandeman had.

Max laughed and replied hesitantly with, "yeah, I guess so."

Trying to get her focus back on the task at hand, Raina asked, "So what else would you like to know?"

"Well, I think the sixty-four-thousand dollar question on everyone's mind is where the hell _is_ Sandeman? Why hasn't he tried to contact us? We could really use his help."

Brigit and Raina both exchanged a look, and Raina knew that Max was not going to like what she had to say. "I'm sorry, Max. Truly, genuinely sorry. I know that you're having a hard time here, and Sandeman would like nothing more than to swoop in and save the day, but he can't." Max opened her mouth and looked like she was about to start yelling, so Raina quickly cut her off. "Let me finish, goddammit!" Then she immediately looked shocked at her self. However, it worked: Max shut up.

"He can't come for a number of reasons. One, he is not legally permitted on American soil. Two, even if he devised a way to get here, he is barely physically able to do so. Three, all of this needs to happen in a certain way. If America watches you run with your tails between your legs, it will solidify their xenophobic feelings toward transgenics. It sucks, but that's the way it is." Her voice was deliberately cool and matter-of-fact.

"That's bullshit!" Max snapped, suddenly darting up into her face. For the first time, Raina realized that she was taller than Max. "Obviously he just doesn't care enough to try!"

"_What?_" Raina's voice abruptly dropped into a lower octave, a faint growl affecting her vocal intonation. "You think he _doesn't care_? You're all he fucking talks about all the _fucking_ time! You think it was _my_ idea to fly out here and risk my fucking _life_ and the lives of _my people_ saving _your_ ass? No! I couldn't give a shit less! But Sandeman tells me you're important, that you're the key, and he tells me to go, and since he did me such a huge _fucking_ favor taking me in, giving me an education, and a job, and a life-despite the fact that it would've been easier just to kill me instead of trying to rehabilitate me—_I went_! That, 452, does not exactly denote to me a lack of caring on his part!"

She was panting after all that, her hands raised in the air, fingers cranked into claws, and she realized that both she and Max were poised on the edge of violence.

Max's hands were at her sides, but they were curled into fists and there was a vibrating tension to her that said it was taking every ounce of control to keep from hitting the black-haired alpha.

Alec had risen from his chair in alarm sometime during her tirade and looked unsure, but ready if he needed to break up a fight. Brigit had adopted a similar cautious stance after she'd (apparently) backed away a few steps. "Girls," Alec drawled, "Let's just relax a bit." His voice was low and even, the tone one would use to lure a wild animal into complacency. "I think we're all a little too wound up." The X5 male began walking towards them, and both women's focus shifted onto him abruptly. Their eyes watched him cautiously, and a low warning sound trickled out of Raina's throat involuntarily.

Which either made Alec very brave or very stupid, because he kept walking towards them. The sound grew louder the closer he got, a sound that most humans wouldn't dream of making. Raina's control was excellent, but under such unique circumstances, she wasn't quite sure what she was capable of. Here was Alec, an alpha X5 male, calmly striding over, ready and willing to insert himself in the middle of an alphic dominance struggle.

She or Max could easily take that interference as an outside challenge, which would bode ill for Alec unless he was prepared to beat them both down into submission, though with Raina's heat hormones slowly but surely making their presence known it could also turn into a challenge of a different sort: a mating challenge. She might rip Max apart just to guarantee that the other alpha female wouldn't have the chance to get with him, or she just might try to claim him in front of an audience. All these things would be bad.

The logic was sobering and helped her curb her desire to fight, to maim, to kill. Raina took a deep breath, managing to relax her hands. One automatically swung outward toward Alec, palm flat: the international symbol for 'stop.'

Obediently, Alec stopped his movement towards them.

Raina eyed Max long enough to see that she was also gathering the tattered remains of her impulse control; she didn't want to back down from the challenge, Raina could tell, but she knew that they couldn't afford to indulge in their baser urges.

Raina took one painfully slow step backwards, and waited to see how Max would react.

The brunette's jaw clenched, but she also forced herself to step back.

Raina took another step back, and Max mimicked the movement again. They were both outside of the other's reach, and something seemed to relax in them once they were.

"Why didn't this happen last night?" Max asked neutrally.

"Probably because I was too hurt; I was distracted by the pain, and you weren't seeing me as a threat." Raina's voice was equally neutral.

"Maybe we should communicate via third party messenger," Max suggested, still speaking in a neutral voice.

"Good plan," Raina agreed and began walking out of the room. It was only then that she noticed that the whole room had gone silent. Every transgenic in the place had their eyes locked on their little show. "I'll be in the on-call room," she added just before she crossed the threshold, "Send your messenger in fifteen. I need some time to chill out."

* * *

The hallway was blessedly cool and empty of others. Raina hurried off, thinking that this was all getting a bit ridiculous.

The room was as she'd left it—bedclothes mussed, but otherwise spotless. She took comfort in the bare walls and utilitarian furniture. It was simple, organized, calm; everything she was not at the moment. At first she sat, thinking that stillness would calm her mind as well. Instead it did the opposite because all she could do was replay her conversation with Max in her mind, over and over.

So then she got up and she paced—she was healing rapidly—but that made her want more movement.

With a frustrated puff of air, Raina gave up on that and laid down on the bed. The mattress was a little too hard, which she hadn't noticed before, and she squirmed to find a comfortable spot.

Then she concentrated on relaxing her mind, counting her heartbeats between each breath, and inevitably trying to reach for her gift again. Just when Raina was reaching a state similar to her usual meditative self, a knock sounded on the door.

"Who is it?" she called warily.

"It's Alec."

She hesitated, taking a moment to judge the status of her oncoming heat. Raina figured she had a good three or four hours before it really started to kick in, affecting the people around her. Most likely everything would be fine. "Come in."

Usually when Raina knew her heat cycle was coming up she found some place safe to hole up, normally her home in D.C., and bought enough morphine to keep herself knocked out until it was over. Being awake and aware during such a time was strange to her. She knew the best thing she could do was to get out of Terminal City and head back to her hotel. It was a pity she did not have contacts in Seattle that worked in the health field. Going without the morphine was tough. Eventually Raina knew that she would succumb to her heat and go out hunting for a male, but at least he would be a human male and so the chances of pregnancy would be miniscule.

Alec entered the room. His scent hit her like a wave before he'd even come all the way inside. She closed her eyes and subconsciously inhaled. He smelled wonderful: earthy and masculine, like the forest after it rained, and with the musky perfume of eau de feline. She went liquid between her thighs. Dammit.

Such a strong physical response was unnerving. It didn't bode well for the intensity of her heat cycle.

"Uh…hey," he looked around, rubbed the back of his neck one handed and then said, "Not a lot of places to sit in here, eh?"

Raina graced him with opening her eyes and letting a small smile curve her lips. "No, not at all. Your interior decorator leaves something to be wanted."

Alec laughed, and shifted his feet in an uncharacteristic expression of nerves.

Idly, she wondered why they kept being thrown together on this odd little sojourn. Then again, she should have known that Max would only trust her unofficial second-in-command to represent her interests in this conversation. Raina was curious for an instant where her own SIC had gotten off to, then figured it was best not to ask.

With a heavy sigh, Raina found herself scooting over on the mattress until her side hit the wall. "Sit down. Your nervous hovering is making me anxious."

Hazel eyes leveled a thoughtful stare at her, then he seemed to shrug and sat down on the edge of the mattress, body turned towards her. "So, you and Max, that was interesting," Alec hedged after a long silent pause.

"Not really. That's what happens a lot of the time when true alphas meet. We have to find out who's the baddest bitch in the land. Gray and I—that's Brigit's mate—challenge each other on a pretty regular basis, though typically one challenge is enough to determine who is more dominant. However, Gray doesn't like answering to a woman very much, and since we are not a mated pair but we are equally alphic, he finds himself driven to depose me from my metaphorical throne." Then after a moment's hesitation she added in a quieter voice, "I find it hard to believe that you've never experienced something like it before. It's our nature."

"Not like _that_," Alec responded, "That was crazy. I thought you guys were going to try to kill each other. I mean, sometimes there was tension between some of us, but we were soldiers before anything else."

"Hm. Perhaps your military training overrode your animal instincts. That is what you're getting at, yes?" Raina was thoughtful, her eyes locked on the ceiling.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Interesting. As you may have guessed, Sandeman was not very strict with our military upbringing. I think he was aiming more for making us able to blend in with normal society. Granted, we all have extensive combat training, and we do have a certain pecking order, but our pecking order is more dependent on who is most dominant and skilled than who is most obedient. And most of us are not full-time soldiers. Many of my unit were raised primarily in foster homes. They were educated alongside humans, and have rather normal jobs and lives outside of the unit."

"So you didn't all live together growing up?" Alec asked, leaning back on his arms in a more comfortable way, intrigued by the glimpse into the other X5s' lives.

She laughed. "Oh, god, no. Believe me, it was a revelation when I first arrived. Their training was a lot like Greek School for humans. It took place after the normal school day was over. Everyone's parents would come and drop them off at the mansion. Sandeman had taken care to place his kids only with couples he knew would be understanding and accepting of what their children were, and also secretive. Then for four hours they would learn and train. Every other weekend we all spent together to develop group dynamics, and almost every school holiday we went away on mock missions, survivalist camps…that sort of thing. Except Christmas. Everybody spent the winter holiday with their families. Well, except me. I stayed with Sandeman. Like I said, I didn't show up there until I was fifteen. Nobody wants to adopt a kid who's so old. But it was actually…really nice, now that I think about it." Raina slanted her eyes over at Alec, who actually looked visibly wistful, and smiled softly.

After a moment, Alec noticed that Raina had stopped speaking. He'd been lost in his own thoughts, picturing how they must have grown up so blissfully normal for the most part. He realized he should probably get down to business and ask her some of what Max wanted to know, but instead the questions that came out were his own personal curiosities. "How many of you are there? How did Sandeman get them all out of Manticore?"

"Sandeman was able to smuggle out thirty X5s while they were still in their test-tube phases. When I came, that made thirty-one. Of course, a few of us have mated and begun having children. If you include them, we're now at thirty-seven. They're still wee ones though."

"Wow, kids. I mean, we get a few running around here. Gem, one of the other X5s, had a baby right when she got here, but aside from that, the youngest ones are the X8s. I can't imagine having children. Kind of freaks me out to tell you the truth." Alec looked a little embarrassed to admit such a weakness, but Raina just laughed.

"Ditto!" she crowed, slapping a hand jovially on the mattress, "I can deal with babysitting 'cause when they start to get real shitty I just hand them back to mom and dad. But my own? 24/7? Freaks me out too."

They both laughed, and for his part, Alec was a little surprised at the instant camaraderie he felt with Raina. In front of others, she'd seemed very cool and aloof (aside from the fight with Max), fortified with a sort of pleasant politeness, but in private he was finding her to be a very different person.

"So do your people have barcodes then? I didn't really bother to look," Alec stated.

"Nope. Not even a hint of 'em. I do 'cause I'm Manticore, but they're all free and clear."

"Lucky bastards."

"Yup," she replied, popping the 'p.' Raina abruptly rolled onto her side, pillowing her head on her arm. Suddenly she looked very, very serious. "Hey, Alec, you know how I gave my people twenty-four hour leave?"

"Ha, yeah. Max was pissed when she noticed people ducking out of TC on the security cameras." He grinned with rebellious good humor.

"Well, I'd really like to go back to my hotel so I can shower and change clothes, and enjoy my leave. What's the best way to get out of here?"

"On foot?" He raised his eyebrows with the question.

"Yes."

"I can get you out, but you're going to need a ride after that. It's not really safe to be walking all throughout the city. Plus, you gotta have a sector pass to get through the checkpoints."

"Oh."

She looked so crestfallen that Alec added, "I can take you, I guess. When do you want to go?" And the sudden brightening of her expression made the inconvenience seem totally worthwhile.

"Now?"

He didn't know what it was about this girl, but for some reason telling her no was the last thing he wanted to do.

They managed to find her shoes, which someone had salvaged before they'd cut off her clothing in the infirmary. As far as shoes went, they were pretty standard black combat boots, designed more for function than style. Still, Raina was glad to see them.

Alec loaned her a jacket for warmth and scrounged up a helmet so that the reporters wouldn't be able to identify her.

Alec took her through the tunnel in the Medtronics building, and hustled her through Logan's new apartment. He didn't really want Logan asking questions about who she was and where they were going, and he definitely didn't want Logan asking Max. He decided he'd just deal with her on his own when he got back.

Raina kept looking around curiously at all the electronic equipment. Once or twice her nostrils flared, taking in the scents of the people who'd been there before. She knew enough to recognize that this place belonged to a human, probably Eyes Only given all the equipment. However, she refrained from asking questions. Instead she followed quietly as Alec led her to the garage where it seemed Terminal City stored their vehicles. There was Alec's bright green Duke, having been retrieved from Seattle P.D. impound.

Helmet on, she settled behind Alec, and had to fight the very impolite impulse to drape herself all over him unnecessarily. A very primal part of her loved feeling his body heat so near hers, but she limited herself to loosely wrapping her arms around his waist and keeping a bit of space between them.

"You're gonna fall off if that's how you plan on sitting," Alec remarked, humor lacing his words.

"I'll be fine," Raina told him, "Just drive."

* * *

The Pembrook Hotel was one of Seattle's last remaining five star luxury hotels. It had sixteen floors of beautifully designed rooms, on-site dining, in-room spa treatments, and staff that supposedly treated everyone like royalty. The crème de la crème of society stayed there. Apparently, so did Raina and her team of seven other transgenics.

She walked in the door and the concierge smiled politely. "Good day, Ms. Solovieva. Is there anything I can get for you?"

Raina paused thoughtfully. She still had enough time and felt as though she ought to give Alec something nice for his trouble. After all, Max was not going to be pleased that she'd taken off without answering her questions, and especially that Alec had helped her leave. "I'd like dinner for two brought to my suite as soon as possible, Mr. Carter. Tenderloin or prime rib, if you have it. I'll take mine medium well. Alec?" Perhaps it was hubris to invite Alec to stay even longer, but she didn't think so. She was fairly confident that she could feed him and send him on his way well before the physical signs of her heat took hold.

"Ah—" Alec looked like he'd been hit with a baseball bat in the face, "Medium rare?"

She smiled widely at the concierge, a middle aged man who looked very distinguished with a well-groomed goatee. "I'd also like a few scallops with my meal, and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, if you please."

"If I may, Ms. Solovieva?" the concierge interrupted just as she was about to head to the front desk. Instead she made in impatient hand gesture for him to continue. "The chef makes an amazing black currant dessert tart upon request, which goes very well with the Cabernet."

"Very well. Send that up also. Oh, and Carter?" she grinned magnificently as the man raised an inquisitive brow, "If you can get it up there in thirty minutes, there's a very generous tip with your name on it." The man nodded sharply in understanding, and picked up the telephone.

The pretty young woman working at the front desk merely held out a room key as Raina glided by, wearing a huge grin. "Have a good evening, Ms. Solovieva," was all she said.

In the elevator, Raina punched the button for the top floor.

"Wow," Alec said when the lift had begun its smooth ascent, "What is it you do for a living exactly?"

Raina graced him with a smile, and leaned back against the wall. "Nothing as important as you're currently thinking. I just have a commanding presence." They got off the elevator once the door smoothly slid open. As they casually strolled down the lushly carpeted hall, Alec kept looking around like he expected someone to jump out with a gun in hand. Raina stated casually, "We rented all the rooms in this wing for security purposes. The only ones that are occupied are filled with my people."

With that, she used her keycard to open the door to the presidential suite. All Alec could think was, 'who, exactly, is this chick that she can afford all this?' It was a very good question, and one that Raina seemed reluctant to answer judging by the way she'd dodged the question earlier.

All Raina could think was that she needed to rush Alec off right after dinner. The trip to the hotel had eaten up forty minutes of time. Dinner would be there in another thirty, and eating it would probably take another half-hour on top of that. Adding in the time she'd spent talking with Alec at Terminal City, and she would have roughly an hour of clearheaded behavior left. Really, being female was so damn inconvenient.

* * *

TBC…


	6. Chapter 5

Lady Jezebel

Chapter 5

Rating: M

Author: Lily Zen

* * *

Notes: Some interesting tidbits I thought you might like knowing…

Did you know that Raina means "queen" in Russian? Also, Solovieva is the feminine form of "nightingale," also Russian. Brigit (sometimes spelled Brigid) is the Celtic goddess of fire, though she is also called a Mother Goddess, meaning that she also represents healing, fertility, the arts, and unity. "Guevera" is not technically a name, but "Guevara" is; Che Guevara was an Argentine-born Cuban revolutionary leader who was executed by the Bolivian army, some say at the urging of the U.S. Alec is a shortened form of Alexander, which is Greek in origin. It means "defender of mankind." McDowell is of Gaelic origin, and means son of Dowell or Dougall, the dark stranger. It also means anyone ignorant of the Gaelic language or any foreigner or stranger, and is the same as McDougall.

I like to look up the meanings of names. Don't ask me why. Though I did choose Raina's name very deliberately.

Disclaimer: Dark Angel is property of James Cameron, Charles H. Eglee, and whole bunch of others that don't include me. Raina and Co. are property of me.

* * *

Dinner actually arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule, escorted up by the concierge personally. Alec was slowly wandering from room to room when it came, admiring the opulence that Raina seemed to be rather accustomed to. First of all, the girl was staying in the presidential suite. The Presidential Suite! When the _President_ came rolling into town this was where he stayed.

The place was huge! It had a full kitchen, a dining room, a living room, the master bath and bedroom, and another half bath in the foyer. Yeah, the room had its own foyer, for god's sake! Not to mention that there was a whole other room complete with its own bathroom within the suite. That, Raina had explained, was where the President's bodyguard would stay. However, as Raina did not have a bodyguard, Brigit, the cute redhead, occupied the room, though she was not currently there.

The hotel room was bigger than his apartment had been.

After telling him to make himself at home, Raina had vanished into the master bathroom. The shower was still running when room service knocked on the door. Alec answered after checking through the peephole. "Hey, guys," he waved them in, "I guess you can just put it in the dining room." Much to his surprise, they actually set up the table themselves.

While they were doing so, Alec registered the sound of the water shutting off with his transgenic hearing. Raina appeared a minute later wearing one of the fluffy white spa robes the hotel provided for its guests. Her damp hair lay in thick, ropy strands, presenting a strong contrast against the white robe, and she smelled fresh and herbal, like expensive shampoo. "Thank you, gentlemen," she smiled and pressed a folded bill—he couldn't tell if it was a single versus a twenty or what, and had the sneaking suspicion that he really didn't want to know—into both the concierge's hand and the boy in the waiter's uniform who'd wheeled the cart in.

"Is there anything more I can get for you?" Carter asked politely.

Raina smiled beneficently and shook her head. "No, thank you, Carter. This is lovely. Have a good evening. Oh, and Carter? Please tell the front desk to hold my calls for the next twenty-four hours. I wish to be undisturbed."

"Of course, Ms. Solovieva, and a good night to you also." The liveried men left quickly, and he heard the door click behind them. There was an awkward moment where Raina and Alec just looked at each other on opposite sides of the room with the dining table between them. Raina wondered if she should get dressed, but then she figured that would be a blatant tell that she was feeling a bit uncomfortable in his presence.

Alec was wondering if Manners 201 was correct, and you really needed to wait until the women were seated.

Raina cleared her throat and smiled. "Well, shall we?" She sat down in a high-backed wooden chair that looked like it might genuinely be an antique. In fact, the whole set looked like it might be a genuine antique. Alec wondered how much the set would get on the black market as he took his seat, and reached automatically for the open bottle of wine. He poured, and she smiled in thanks as she swirled, smelled, and sipped the expensive liquid. Alec followed her example, though with less experience than she obviously displayed.

The black haired woman was acting like she was at any other dinner meeting she might have held, bathrobe notwithstanding. "It's a good vintage," she marked casually as she set her wine glass down.

Alec made a noncommittal noise that might have been agreement. He was more of a scotch drinker.

Raina picked at her food with all the enthusiasm of someone at a dinner party, her mind elsewhere. Being without her visions was frightening in and of itself; being without them in such a vulnerable condition was enough to make her want to barricade herself in. Then again, she knew that wouldn't hold for very long. When her control broke, she was going to leave the hotel room no matter what stood in her way. Idly, she wished that she'd never come down with the rest of the team, that she'd sent someone else in her stead. It wasn't like her to make such huge mistakes.

"Raina?" Alec's voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up, and realized she'd been completely silent for over ten minutes. "I'm sorry, I'm not being a very good host, am I?"

"Penny for your thoughts?" Alec asked before he ate another bite of juicy, delicious, cooked-just-right steak. He could get used to eating like this on a regular basis.

A sardonic smile found its way onto her visage. "I think my thoughts will wind up costing more than a penny, but perhaps it will help me figure some things out. I was just thinking how very unlike me this has all been. Then I was forced to admit to myself that I don't really know what I'm like. It's a confusing loop of thought that seems to go nowhere in particular."

"Maybe," here Alec hesitated, "Maybe you should just go with it. I mean, I don't get how the whole psychic thing works scientifically, and since I don't understand it, I don't really believe it. But if it's true and it's so all-encompassing as you seem to be implying, maybe you should just enjoy this time without it. Get to know yourself."

"Your advice is 'don't worry, be happy?'" Raina chuckled.

"Guess so," Alec replied cheerily, "And you're right, this wine isn't half bad."

After that, dinner was more of a relaxed affair. Alec kept telling funny stories about himself and the people he worked with. It was a tactic he'd obviously decided on to keep her mind away from darker thoughts. One about Mole, a cat-girl, and the last remaining sun lamp in TC made her laugh so hard that she got a stitch in her side. It worked so well that Raina completely forgot about the time.

She shifted in her seat, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs. In the brief second that her robe flapped open, Alec's nostrils flared, and his eyes dilated as he caught her scent.

"Shit," she cursed as she glanced at the clock. Over an hour had passed. She should have had more time unless she'd miscalculated. Dammit. She was making mistake after mistake in Seattle.

"Raina," Alec drawled, "When were you going to tell me you were going into heat?" His muscles were tensed as he fought the urge to leap over the table like some ravening beast.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked, "I lost track of time. I was supposed to shoo you out over thirty minutes ago." Her face colored with a highly uncharacteristic blush, though he thought it suited her pale skin and made her look girlishly charming.

Raina was so _embarrassed_. Carefully, she set down her silver fork, and looked at her very yummy black currant tart. "Maybe I'll just get up and go in my room, and then you can leave." As she shifted to stand, it was then Raina noticed that though she hadn't yet lost herself to the heat, she was, hormonally speaking, fully engaged. She was betting that if she gave it another thirty minutes or so, she'd be completely loopy.

However, Alec was completely loopy now, because as she rose, he matched her movements almost subconsciously. His eyes were intent on her, and she realized with a start that he was stalking her. Not good. Somehow, she needed to break his focus so that she could get to her room. Goddamn hubris.

Her eyes landed on the silver domed cover that had rested over her plate during transit. If she threw it like a Frisbee and curved it, she could hit the wet bar near Alec. It was sad to destroy the beautiful crystal decanters, and even sadder to pay for them, but she would rather that than have to hurt Alec. Keeping her eyes on Alec, she curved her fingers around the cover, flipped it so she had a proper kind of grip on it.

When she reared back and let fly, she immediately started running, blurringly fast, toward the bedroom door. There was a standing wardrobe in there that she could use to barricade the door. Raina wasn't given overmuch to displays of her transgenic abilities. She thought it rather unnecessary in most situations. This, however, was not one of them.

The crash was loud, and she looked back automatically to see that Alec was unhurt. Unfortunately, Alec was right behind her, chasing his prey, and her minute distraction was enough to allow him to catch up to her. She felt a hand wrap around her upper arm, and then a wrenching pain as Alec pulled her back, swung her. Her face, followed by the rest of her body, connected unceremoniously with the foyer wall. She tried to gain purchase and push off with her hands to no avail. Alec held her expertly pinned with his superior strength, hands around her upper arms; body pressed the length of hers. He'd spread her legs a bit, keeping her off balance, and pinned her hips with his so that she couldn't try to buck him off. His arousal pushed against her ass in a most disconcertingly intimate fashion.

Her struggles were rendered ineffectual, and he was breathing heavily, taking in her scent. Knowing it was useless, but feeling she had to try anyway, Raina tried reasoning with him even as his scent and his nearness ate away at her humanity. "Alec," she began, and he let out a sound that might have been a purr. His nose nudged her hair out of the way, and nuzzled her bare neck where her scent would be strongest on her upper body. "Alec, you don't want to do this." He licked right over her barcode, and she shuddered as arousal coursed through her. "You're a good guy, Alec. We both know that, and you don't want to be a victim to my biology or your own. So just…" She was completely distracted as he bit lightly over the same spot, feeling herself go weak kneed. Her fingers clung to the wall to keep from falling back into him. "Just let me go," Raina finished breathily.

For a moment it seemed like he was going to. His hands left her arms, and from the feel of it Raina knew she was bruised. Then he simply stroked down her neck and her back, taking the terry cloth with his hands so that he was touching only bare skin. She trembled at the gentleness of it, a little awed at his self-control. He made a noise low in his throat at her involuntary movement, and then he scooped her up in his arms.

Powerful steps took them towards the bedroom. When it occurred to her that was where they were heading, she began to struggle in his arms vehemently. He had to tighten his grip so that he didn't drop her on her head, and it forced the breath from her lungs though she kept wiggling. All of the sudden he stopped, shook her, and growled one word: "Don't." Alec's jaw muscles worked impatiently as he continued walking, relaxing a little when he felt Raina stop struggling. She'd gotten the message that his control was incredibly tenuous at the moment. He didn't have the strength to walk away from the wildness her pheromones had induced in him, but he could make this a pleasant experience if she didn't fight him every step of the way.

Raina made a small pain sound when Alec set her on the bed. The breath rushed back into her lungs, leaving her light-headed. Then it hit her that the reason Alec hadn't climbed up on the bed with her was because he was stripping off his t-shirt. The fact that he was undressing excited her and panicked her at the same time. She didn't…she couldn't…

Her heat was stripping away the thin veneer of humanity, and she bared her teeth in warning a second before she flew off the bed. Running blurringly fast, she used her momentum to slam into Alec, catching him quite literally with his pants down. He hit the heavy armoire so hard that one of the wooden doors cracked, but Raina knew that wouldn't deter him for long.

She sprang up and ran for the door that connected Brigit's room to hers. If she could reach that, she could topple Brigit's own armoire across the doorway, giving her enough time to run out of the other exit. Though where she'd go from there in a bathrobe was anyone's guess.

The doorknob was a centimeter away from her grasp; she could taste the sweetness of victory, of being faster, smarter, better than her competitor. A primal part of her insisted that if he wasn't good enough to catch her, he wasn't good enough to breed her. Then Alec hit her from behind with the force of a semi-truck, using her hair as a handle to whip her away from the door. Ignoring the pain, she spun around, and planted a solid punch on his jaw. The force whipped his head sideways, but she wasn't satisfied yet.

Instead Raina stepped in and knocked the wind out of him with another punch, this time to the gut, and then bowled him over by catching the back of his knee with her leg and tugging forwards at the same time as she head-butted him backwards. For a moment he lay before her like a felled tree, and then Alec sprang up with a low growl.

Moving so fast she could barely track him, Alec shoved her to the ground using brute force. He landed on top of her heavily, and she bucked automatically, using hands and legs and hips to try to get off the ground. Of course, Alec pinned her arms in a way that made leverage difficult to garner, and when she grew frustrated with her ineffectual struggles, she leaned forwards and bit his bare chest so hard that she drew blood, snarling as she did so.

He snarled right back, reared, and struck her open-handed. It wasn't a strike meant to incapacitate and it wouldn't leave a bruise, but her head hit the wood floor hard enough that she saw stars with the force of it. When her vision cleared, Raina found that her robe was completely stripped open, and Alec was biting and licking at her throat in a way that indicated he was claiming superiority.

Raina tucked her chin close to her chest, refusing him that little bit of herself, and he growled in warning before he decided to move on, lapping at her stiff nipples. The noise she made was not a sound of protest, and as he trailed lower and lower, her hips moved restlessly. When he reached the area just before her nether regions he looked up, and Raina chose that moment to take advantage of his vulnerable position.

With a sharp twist of her wrists, she broke free of his hold, knowing that Alec just didn't have enough leverage to maintain his grip in that position. She brought her knees up and in, and shoved as hard as she could, lifting him off of her. Raina performed a smooth martial arts kip, leaving her robe behind on the ground, and ran for the door.

Again, Alec gave chase, grabbing her around the waist and throwing her onto the bed so hard that she bounced, and heard a crash as the bedside lamp hit the ground. He was right behind her, pinning her with utmost efficiency, and biting her neck above her barcode so hard that she had no choice but to surrender. He had the muscle clamped between his teeth in such a way that if she tried to escape, he would rip it out.

As he felt her relax, the growl in his chest turned to a purr, though he kept his teeth clamped in her skin. She could feel him fumbling behind her, sliding his pants down one-handed in an awkward stutter, and then he took his length in his hand, rubbed the tip against her swollen lips. When she didn't protest, he penetrated her with a groan. Raina let out a small sound of pleasure at the invasion, and rocked her hips back against him.

Finally, Alec relaxed his grip on her neck, realizing that she had truly conceded the battle, and that he would need to pull back a little bit to thrust. When he did, he had the genuine pleasure of hearing Raina cry out, and watched her grip the hotel comforter in a desperate manner, like she needed extra mooring. She rounded her spine as he continued, offering herself up even more. He lost his grip on her arms, but that was okay because he slid his hands down her sides and underneath her, cupping her breasts in his hands. He played with them, massaging with varying pressure and stopping every so often to tease her sensitive peaks.

Raina hardly knew which way was up. She loved the thick, solid feel of him sliding in and out of her slick passage, couldn't get enough of it. She knew she was making wordless sounds of intense pleasure, especially when he drew back and did something that shifted the angle inside of her just enough that he was hitting _that_ spot every single time.

"Alec!" she cried with the first thrust in this new position. His satisfaction at hearing his name on her lips was palpable. Alec's hands left her breasts. Freed from his grip, they swayed in the air with every movement of her body as she rocked back and forth, trying to get more of him inside her, chasing the pleasure they both felt. Those hands that had abandoned her chest slid down, tickling her stomach. One stopped just above where they were joined, and with one finger he teased the swollen bundle of nerves. The other rounded the curve of her hip, smacked her ass (which she was surprisingly into), and then ran up her spine to tangle in her hair.

He moved the thick mass to the side and used it to pull her head up, arch her neck back ever so slightly. The subtle strain made his every movement that much more intense, and she felt herself filling up with an overabundance of oh-god-this-feels-so-good. It was too much, too intense. She couldn't seem to catch her breath, and then that inner cup overflowed.

Her scream of ecstasy was wordless, and she danced on his dick like she was having a seizure (which was, unfortunately, a possibility with X5s). Her nails clawed at the bedspread and when that wasn't enough, Raina reared up, stretched her arm back, and sank her prettily manicured nails into Alec's flesh, drawing them down the fleshy part of his ass and his flank. She felt her inner muscles clamp tightly on Alec as he came, and the thought of his semen bathing her insides triggered another smaller orgasm.

When it was all over, they were both clinging to each other, shaking from the intensity. Raina was the one to let go first, and she curled up on the bed diagonally, feeling Alec's member slip out of her as she did so. Alec followed after her, lying by her side facing her, placing a possessive hand on the small of her back. They both concentrated on catching their breath. There was the subtle indicator that her heat wasn't over—once was rarely enough for her—but at the moment all she wanted to do was recover.

To her surprise, Alec started laughing, a deep, warm chuckle that made her turn her head curiously and raise an eyebrow. "My ass is bleeding," he laughed, and Raina's face flamed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she stated, her voice rough from screaming.

"Don't be," Alec replied with a heated look that left no doubt in her mind how he was feeling, "You're still in heat." He sounded surprised.

Raina laughed throatily and said, "What? Your usual girls don't have stamina?"

"Not like this."

Raina moved one shoulder in a lazy shrug. "Most X5s have a genetic cocktail that includes things other that feline DNA. I don't. Just got cat, cat, and more cat. Different kinds of cat, but still cat. It makes my cycles a little more intense than some of the others'." With that she rolled onto her back, and stretched in a definitely feline way. Alec stared at her hungrily and circled her belly button with his finger. "That was good," she said with a suggestive smile, "By the time we're cleaned up; do you think you'll be ready for round two?"

It didn't occur to either of them to question whether or not he would stay. Alec didn't think he could tear himself away. The only thing that he said as they walked into the master bathroom was, "Sorry I hit you."

When he looked, he found that Raina was smiling, examining her face in the mirror. "Its fine," she replied, "It's a little red, but that's it. To be honest, I was perversely excited by it at the time." Then she handed him a wet washcloth with a wink that said maybe they weren't going to make it until they were both cleaned up.

* * *

Raina knew she was smiling like an idiot as, nearly twelve hours later, they both lay in an exhausted pile on the bed. She couldn't keep track of the amount of times they'd had sex. It all seemed to blur into one giant orgasm. Jesus, she was so tired, but the jittery energy in her wouldn't let her sleep.

However, Alec didn't have that problem. He had one arm around Raina, snuggling her close to him, and the other hand clasped her left breast possessively. His breathing was deep and even, relaxed into a deep sleep as Raina stroked his back. She wanted to kiss the faint freckles on his nose, but didn't want to wake him.

He'd been so good to her after the initial struggle, remarkably so. She wished that she could give him something in return for seeing her through such a difficult time, but knew that he wouldn't take whatever she offered. His male pride would keep him from accepting anything, even just a simple 'thank you.'

Moving deliberately slow, she detached his hand from her breast and rested it between them. He shifted like he was going to wake up, and so she rubbed his head underneath his shaggy hair, lulling him back to sleep. His other arm was gently lifted, and Raina slid away smoothly. Even in his sleep Alec noted her absence, and he moved restlessly into the spot she'd just vacated.

Picking up the phone next to the bed, Raina dialed down to room service and ordered half the breakfast menu. Alec was so tired that he didn't even stir when she left the room to get the door, but he did wake up when sat next to him with a cup of coffee and let the smell waft over to him. "Mm?" He rubbed his eyes like a little boy, smiled when he saw her, and reached for her instead of the coffee she held out to him. He sniffed her neck, mumbling, "Still there."

"A bit," she agreed, resting her free hand on his lower back, then she tapped the top of his butt with her palm and said, "Let go. I'm starving." Alec pulled away with an exaggerated pout, but she remained stern and held out the coffee. He finally took it with a put-upon sigh. Raina smiled and flounced over to the cart she'd wheeled directly into the room, wearing nothing but the infamous white robe again. She grabbed a covered dish and a rolled napkin with silverware, and headed back towards the bed. "Check out the cart. I ordered a bunch of different stuff."

Truly, she had, Alec realized when he got up off the bed and walked over there in the buff. He felt Raina's eyes follow him and looked over his shoulder with a knowing smirk. She grinned unabashedly and stuffed a whole sausage in her mouth, chewing with gusto. In the end, he grabbed a dish of eggs benedict and his own silverware, and rejoined Raina on the bed. They were quiet as they both annihilated the cart of food with intense concentration.

Finally, after Raina had consumed a plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast, and an order of crepes, and a platter of hashbrowns grilled with onion, green pepper, bacon bits, and cheese, she declared herself stuffed. "If I eat anything else, I'll throw up." She flopped back on the bed, patting her very content stomach. "I love food," she said almost to herself.

"Me too," Alec agreed, equally full, "We should take a nap."

"Agreed." And that was exactly what they did.

* * *

She woke up some time later to find that her robe was gone—hm, she must've taken it off in her sleep—and that Alec's erection was pressing insistently against her derriere. Raina moved experimentally and stifled a giggle when Alec, still asleep, flexed his hips and mumbled, "Mm, I'm up."

Feeling playful or daring or perhaps a mixture of both, she took Alec's limp hand in hers and used his fingers to caress her own breasts. That time the giggle wouldn't be silenced. Her hand trailed down across her own sensitive stomach, and she touched her womanhood with barely there caresses that cranked her up and made her hypersensitive. She was sore from all the rigorous activity, but it was a delicious sort of ache that she'd never experienced before.

Raina realized she was still subconsciously pressing against her bed partner's turgid member, and then biting her lip, she spread her legs the slightest bit. The tip of him moved right into that space she'd created and she rubbed herself against him in a movement that was an excruciating tease for both of them. All of the sudden, she felt Alec wake up in a rush. "Mm, what're you doing?" he purred and kissed the back of her neck.

She craned her neck around and kissed him in lieu of words, tongues tangling in a slow, heated dance. The rhythm was natural to both of them now, if a bit messy given their positions, but it still made her want to cling to him helplessly. As she pulled away, she whispered in his ear, "Alec, I'm so wet."

Raina had the pleasure then of watching Alec's pupils flare wide. He was still between her legs, and upon that epiphany, slowly thrust forward and rubbed himself along the outside of her lips. Raina mewled and clasped her legs together, and suddenly Alec was in a whole new kind of tight, slick passage. "Oh shit," he mumbled in a choked voice, "Raina."

They both enjoyed that for a bit, then Raina whispered, "I want you in me."

Alec groaned and pulled out of the tight triangle of space, and Raina turned to face him. Her hands automatically found his chest. She flicked his nipples, which made his breath catch in a fashion that delighted her, and he shuddered ever so slightly when she gently drew her nails down his abs. She was quite in love with the hollows right next to his hips, which she stroked and then scooted down on the bed to kiss.

The temptation to tease him was just too much for Raina, and she ran her tongue in a circle around one testicle, up the side of his dick, and swirled around the tip, applying the barest amount of suction. Then she ran down the other side and ended with the other ball, and as she did that, she stroked the dimples above his ass with her fingertips. Alec let out a moan at the delicious torture, and almost swore when Raina pulled away with a smile.

"Minx," he growled, and unceremoniously tossed her onto her back. She laughed and merely settled her hands around his neck when he climbed between her thighs, pulling him down for another one of those long, drugging kisses. His hands knew unerringly every spot on her body now that excited and aroused her, and he teased her horribly as payback. He nipped at her neck, nibbled on her collarbones, and molded her breasts with his hands. He sucked on her nipples, trailed his tongue and his fingertips down her stomach in a way that made her squirm. Then he pressed firm kisses below her belly button, and…completely by-passed the place she so wanted him to go.

"Ooh, Alec," she growled menacingly, and glowered down at him in an almost convincing manner. However, he just smiled, and licked the back of her knee. It was so… Her mind went blank when he did it again, eyes almost rolling back into her head. Her moan was low and pleading. When he shifted his focus to her tender inner thighs it was almost a mercy.

Raina was panting and wet and completely insensible with desire, which was just how Alec wanted her. He kissed her clit and she jumped a little, making a little moue of surprise. Then he pulled out the big guns again and let his breath tickle the back of her other knee, a momentary warning before he licked it. He wasn't sure what it was about that simple motion that got to her so bad, but all he knew was that she clearly loved it as her back arched and she let out a hoarse cry. He was so hard it fucking hurt, but this was too much fun to pass up. She didn't even realize that she was gripping his hair hard enough to hurt as she said his name.

When she opened her fluorite eyes again, they were wild looking. She licked her lips and they both moved at the same time, mashing their mouths together so hard that their teeth clicked. Raina pulled away with a little laugh, but Alec chased her lips until she surrendered to him. She raised her hips, curved her legs around him in a gesture as automatic as breathing, and he pulled back just enough to grasp himself and nudge his way inside.

They both watched the tantalizing penetration, and when he was in as far as he could go, Raina let out a little puff of air. She drew him down with a look in her eyes—warm, melting, inviting—and rubbed her lips across his sensually. As far as their kisses to date had been, it was relatively innocent, belying the intimacy of their position. He moved slightly, and swallowed the sound she made with another kiss. When it seemed like he was really getting into a rhythm, Raina stopped him with a hand on his chest and a small shake of her head.

Alec looked at her questioningly, but she just smiled and uncoiled her legs from his back. He pulled away slightly, obviously confused, but he got it when she slung her legs over his shoulders. The new position gave him more room inside, more depth, and he sank into her further. She shivered with longing, arching her hips up, and murmured in a sweet voice, "Now go. Please." When he thrust in the new position, all she could do was say, "More."

His hips pistoned back and forth, and at some point he bent down low, swinging into her harder, bending her almost in two. All Raina did was push herself up a little bit on her elbows and lick the sweat from his chest.

Then she stopped him again, swung both legs over one shoulder, and had the pleasure of watching Alec swallow convulsively at the pressure of her inner walls cradling his length like he was always supposed to be there.

It was too much, not just for him, but for her also. Shortly thereafter, Raina shouted his name while her body spasmed, the fingers that had been teasing her own clitoris drawing the orgasm out, and Alec submitted to his body's urgent need to release, coming in great shuddering waves with a shout that almost drowned out hers.

Afterward, as they lay together catching their breath and stretching sore muscles (okay, maybe that was just Raina), she realized that her heat had well and truly abated for another six months. She smiled, tucked her head against Alec's shoulder, and gasped as her vision returned full-force.

And it showed her…it showed her that she had made a horrible mistake.

* * *

TBC…


	7. Chapter 6

Lady Jezebel

Chapter Six

Rating: M

Author: Lily Zen

* * *

Notes: I would like to address something before this particular chapter as I believe it is of relevance. Some readers brought up the subject of a possible pregnancy resulting from last chapter's events. To those of you who were dismayed by this possibility, I'm sorry to have disappointed you. Frankly, I thought about changing it after I read that, but I decided not to because then I'd have to change key points in the follow-up story's plot. So the story will continue as I drafted it up, but I'm imploring you to continue reading. I think you'll end up being rather surprised by where this story goes. It is not one of those heat-centric happy-ending formulaic stories that you seem to believe it is turning into. If you keep reading, you'll see that.

Disclaimer: Dark Angel isn't mine. Original stuff is.

* * *

Raina enjoyed Alec's company for a few more hours. It was a parting gift she was giving to herself; the long, luxurious shower they took together, letting him brush the tangles out of her hair, trading jokes and stories and smiles and kisses. It was a level of intimacy she'd never allowed herself to have before, and if she was honest, she wouldn't have let herself have it with Alec either if she hadn't made so many dumb decisions in a row. Part of her thought maybe she'd made them all on purpose, knowing exactly what would result from them.

Then when she could put it off no longer, she gently persuaded him that he should return to Terminal City. "No doubt Max thinks I have absconded with you and sold you for parts." She laughed lightly. Alec fought her on it, but her persistence paid off; he eventually conceded.

The black haired woman dressed at the same time, slipping on a pair of purple lacy underwear and a matching bra. The color matched her eyes and the short-sleeved blouse she pulled on. Gray twill trousers followed that and a pair of black flats. Her black hair was dry now and she secured it in a silver barrette, low enough that it hid her barcode. She looked more like herself now, not like that wanton thing who had just recklessly, thoughtlessly ruined everything.

Alec was looking at her in the mirror, having finished dressing. She pasted on a smile and turned, though the look in his eyes said that he knew that wonderful, fun, sexy woman he'd just serviced for hours upon hours was gone, hidden away underneath layers of Raina's icy control. Then she had a vision of Rene, miles and miles away, calling the hotel and leaving a message with the girl who'd been at the desk yesterday.

It was different this time. The visions didn't bombard her like they had for years. She wasn't lost in them, cut off from the rest of the world. It took a fraction of a second to receive the complete foretelling, and then she was back in reality, still completely functional. Idly, she wondered what had changed, but her curiosity stopped there. Perhaps it was simply time that her mind had healed from the damage Manticore had dealt her. Oh, the physical scars were long gone, but she still bore the memories of those long years.

"Ready?" Raina asked.

"Yep."

"I'll walk you out," she stated and grabbed her room key.

The elevator ride was painfully quiet. Raina had the sense that Alec didn't want to chitchat with her, that he found the change in her behavior to be abrupt and disappointing. If he was waiting for her to declare her undying devotion, he was going to be waiting a very long time indeed. "Do you mind if we stop at the front desk?" Raina asked coolly as the lift doors slid discreetly open.

"That's fine," Alec replied and followed her on silent feet.

She had eleven messages; five increasingly frantic ones from Sandeman, four highly concerned ones from Brigit, and two from a very angry Max. They read 'Where the hell are you? Where's Alec?' and 'What the hell? Where are you two? Call me back ASAP!'

Alec, who was reading over her shoulder, chuckled and said, "I had no idea she cared so much." The resulting vision momentarily rendered her speechless. She smiled brightly to cover it up. "Come on, let's get you home before somebody comes pounding on my door."

They walked to the parking garage together where Alec had left his Duke. She stood straight as he swung his leg over and straddled the bike. Before he could turn on the engine and before she lost her nerve, Raina stepped in close. "Thank you," she said, and kissed him one last time. Alec clutched her around the waist and was momentarily tempted to sling her over his lap. There was the woman he'd just spent an amazing day with, and he kind of wanted to try to keep her forever. Instead he pulled back with a nip to her full lower lip, grinned confidently, and said, "No. Thank you."

Raina stepped back then and laced her fingers together behind her back so she wouldn't touch him again. "Bye, Alec."

"Bye, Raina," he smiled, "It was nice meeting you."

The words lanced her heart, but her face remained polite as she said "you too," and watched him ride away.

* * *

Raina was apparently a dweller, which was something she hadn't known about herself before. She dwelled for a good two hours before she finally called Sandeman back and made her report to him. She told him everything…_everything_, even though it killed her to do so, to admit to such weakness. In the end, all he could say was that she and her team needed to leave town immediately, and that he was disappointed in her.

When he hung up the phone, she found that big, fat tears were dripping silently down her cheeks, hitting the writing desk in the suite's living room. It was odd for her because Raina couldn't really remember crying, not about something so silly and insignificant as a couple of words. Maybe when Lydecker had her in solitary for that long time.

Fifteen minutes later, she called Brigit, and told her to round up the team and rendezvous back at the hotel. Ten minutes after that she had them all booked on the Red Eye flight to Montreal.

Then all she had was more time to dwell, and she did.

She dwelled on something she had known since she was a little girl, but refused to accept: that it was her sorry fate to love someone promised to another. To fight for him would irrefutably alter the course of history and-she just couldn't. Despite the years that had passed from her time at Manticore, following orders was still ingrained in her behavior.

* * *

_Montreal_

Rene Sandeman was ninety-five years old and for his age, very well-preserved. The Familiars tended to have a longer lifespan due to their years of selective breeding, but they were still human. So even though he had been bred to be strong and resilient, his body was still breaking down over time, leaving him a little weaker with each passing year. At the moment he was breathing deeply while he held a mask up to his face. The mask was connected through a small plastic tube to a portable oxygen tank. Over the rim of the mask, his dark brown eyes were cool and speculative and held just a hint of the anger he felt.

Raina stoutly refused to let herself wilt under his gaze. She sat with ramrod straight posture on an antique divan with her hands resting casually in her lap, and ordered herself not to fidget, even if that was all she secretly wanted to do. Still, pride kept her silent and still.

One gnarled hand reached out and turned the oxygen off, and then he set down the mask with equal deliberation. "Raina," he began, and then he corrected himself, "501 seems more appropriate for the tone of this meeting, don't you think? A little more disciplinary." She almost flinched at the cold tone of his voice and the use of her designation, but curbed the impulse.

Sandeman rubbed the bridge of his hawkish nose between low brows that had long gone gray and heaved a deep sigh. "I don't enjoy this, Raina. I have never once had to reprimand you for anything; I've never wanted to. Up to this point, you've been infallible. But you knew, you were told that 494 was not for you, and yet you defied me the moment you saw him. I was going to make you my liaison with Terminal City. You would have been the person I trusted most with the job. Now I shall have to consider other options, because clearly we must keep you away from 494. Something about his presence completely short circuits your logical thought processes."

There was a heavy moment of silence where Rene wheezed a bit until he got his breath under control again. For the first time since she'd sat down in his study, Raina's countenance registered something other than impassivity; she looked sad. Rene grinned ruefully and grumbled, "Ah, don't look at me like that. I should have never smoked one cigar, but I was young and foolhardy. Speaking of, what have you to say for yourself?"

"I was young and foolhardy?" Raina parroted back wearing the smile that had melted hearts all across the globe. Her eyes were hopeful, but Sandeman dashed those hopes with his next words.

"You were, but don't forget selfish and irresponsible. I have a certain fondness for you, Raina. You have been an invaluable resource for me these past years, but none of that puts you above reproach. Should you become too much of a liability to me, I have no reservations about letting you go." Rene steepled his fingers together and pursed his lips in a way that thinned them even more, and Raina studied him with a calmness that hid the hurt she felt.

She wet her suddenly dry lips, opened her mouth to speak, to say something, anything, but she was strangely speechless. Sandeman eyed her curiously, this strange creation of his whom he'd truly thought was the perfect soldier for many years, and was abruptly reminded that under years of training and abuse, she was still a woman, and women were renowned for their emotional reactions to certain stimuli. "Do you understand, Raina?" he asked, his voice gentler than it had been before.

All she could do was nod. "Yes, I understand. My orders, sir?"

"Proceed as normal, prior to this unusual escapade of yours."

Raina stood up and turned on her heel smartly, her flats making her steps nearly silent, and walked away to the double wooden doors. They were expertly carved and appropriately enough with the ancient symbols of the manticore and its ilk. Just as she was reaching for the bronze handles, Sandeman's voice stopped her. "Oh, and Raina?"

She turned and locked eyes with the aging Familiar scientist, still formidable despite his physical weaknesses. His mind was still as sharp as ever, and one didn't need to move to think. He stood to his full height, his posture a little bit stooped as he leaned heavily on his custom designed walking cane. "Do you think there will be a child resulting from this indiscretion of yours?" Her face flamed and that was answer enough for him. Rene nodded to himself, "I thought as much."

Raina cleared her throat as her next words threatened to choke her. "Should I abort?"

The answer took some thought on Rene's part. X5s were rare enough, and if the goal in the future was to blend in with society and live like normal people, they should probably not demonstrate a pro stance on abortion. The general populace seemed to disagree with it, and with Raina being such a public figure, people would just love to have some dirt to dig up on her, especially after she 'came out' as a transgenic. "No, I think that would send the wrong kind of message. However, perhaps we can find a suitable family to adopt the child. You don't have any particular attachment to the idea of being a parent, do you?"

"No, of course not." Raina shook her head emphatically. "This is an acceptable alternative. Until then, I shall try to keep my pregnancy as quiet as possible." Sandeman nodded like she had finally done something right, and turned his back on her, walking painstakingly behind the huge mahogany desk. It was a blatant dismissal, and Raina's fingers tightened convulsively where they still held the bronze doorknob, then she turned and walked out of the room without another word.

It was humiliating being talked down to like she was some misbehaving child, and she was choking on the criticism she'd been forced to endure. He was right though, Raina firmly reminded herself as she paced down the corridor, her steps echoing on the parquet floor and bouncing off the high plaster walls with their elaborate crown molding. Her steps were smooth and unhurried, those of a caged predator. "You deserve it," she whispered under her breath, "You knew better."

So she was going to give up her child. That was okay. Truth be told, she much preferred her lifestyle of unattached roaming to the thought of being saddled with a crying, shitting, spitting germ factory. Children were so messy, and they required constant supervision. They were completely unsuited to her career, her life's work. For years she had dedicated herself to the cause, working diligently from the shadows of Washington D.C. It would be foolish to throw it all away for some bastard progeny from an illicit affair.

Raina was so completely lost in thought that she walked right past the crowded family room where her teammates were reuniting with their friends and family, oblivious to the curious stares she received from some of them, and right up the wide, carpeted stairway. She had been warned time and again to stay away from 494 by her own visions, herself, and Sandeman. The future was a delicate thing, as fragile as a spider's web. A careless hand could ruin the work, and the spider would start anew but the new web would not be identical to the old one.

Her room at Sandeman's home was large and designed in muted gray tones accented with a color called cranberry. The lines were clean and simple, understated when compared with the immensity of most of the décor of the mansion. She had redesigned the room herself when she was nineteen, needing a place that was all her own. A thoughtless finger flicked the lock on the door behind her, and her shoes were kicked off by the granite fireplace. Her barrette was unpinned and left on the colorful mosaic mantle.

It had never truly bothered her before that Rene didn't love her. Well, okay, it had a little, but it was a vague, half-formed emotion prior to her trip to Seattle. He didn't think of her as the daughter he'd never had, nor even a distant relative like a niece. For the most part he regarded Raina as a favored employee, a useful tool. There was no more emotion in that than in the love of a favorite pair of shoes. That was okay, she could adore him enough for the both of them, or so she'd thought. It seemed that with her recent mental clarity an emotional fragility had emerged.

It wouldn't have been so awful on is own, but knowing she couldn't have Alec, and having proof that the man whose cause she had devoted her life to really didn't care about her was too much. It was in the safety of her room that Raina removed every partition she'd put up around her feelings, reveling in the maelstrom surging inside her. As if to add insult to injury, Rene had used her designation—_her designation_—to drive the final nail in the coffin that she was nothing more than a number to him. Replaceable. Sure, there wasn't anyone else with such useful skills in their arsenal, no one else like her, but he could still replace her. It might take several different little worker bees to pick up where she'd left off, but he could do it.

Raina was vaguely surprised that her heart fracturing wasn't audible.

Manticore had trained them to endure a lot, and she had. After the '09 escape, psychological evaluations was mandatory for all trainees. When she exhibited strong symptoms of rebellion, they were right on top of it. 501 was sent to Re-indoctrination for months, and when that didn't work, Psy Ops. Still in its infancy, time spent in Psy Ops back then was even more brutal than what Alec had endured. ECT was par for the course back then. Once they had even cut open her head to look inside with their own eyes. They'd drilled little holes through her skull and put tiny cameras inside to try and figure out why she was so resistant to their psionic persuasions. She still had small scars from that underneath her hair; she could feel them when she shampooed. When Psy Ops gave up on brainwashing her, Colonel Donald Lydecker took over, intrigued by her case and wanting to keep one of his 'kids' off the chopping block. His methods were, in a way, more efficient than the others.

Lydecker approached the issue from a different angle. 'How does one tame a wild animal?' he asked himself. The answer was obvious: break its spirit. Employing various torture techniques both traditional and creative in origin, that is exactly what he attempted to do. What he did not anticipate was 501's undocumented psychic ability and how her foresight would prepare her for the trials ahead. Despite knowing what was coming, that didn't stop the pain from slowly chipping away at her sanity. Her retreat into her gift was a last desperate attempt at self-preservation while she waited for an opportunity to arise. It took a long, long time, but 501 was a patient hunter. Then one day she had her first premonition of escape.

Most of the time the Colonel was too busy to personally attend to the business of breaking 501. The people assigned to it in his stead were appropriately sociopathic, sadistic, otherwise enamored with her (some had to be replaced when Lydecker found obvious signs of sexual abuse), or any combination of the aforementioned. There was one particular man who took to his new duties with gusto. His name was Wilson, but he made her call him the Marquis. The Marquis, as one might have assumed, was a special blend of sexual sadist who had a taste for young girls.

Raina knew the moment the Marquis walked into the room that she could make him trust her, even think that he loved her. She would be everything he'd ever wanted in a girl: scared, submissive, and eager to please. Eventually he would think she was no threat to him. He would forget that she was a trained killer, a natural-born actress, and stronger than he could ever hope to be. Wilson was her ticket out. Lost in the grip of her second sight, she was more powerful than ever before. It was just a matter of time and holding onto that solid inner-core of determination.

Raina was a survivor, and more resilient than anyone gave her credit for. Despite roughly four years of torture (and she included Re-indoctrination and Psy Ops in that) and imprisonment, she was still a functioning member of society.

But emotional pain hurt in ways the physical couldn't compare to. After she had poured out as much sorrow and anger and self-pity as she could, she simply laid on her bed staring blankly up at the ceiling. She was trying for calm and meditative, but her mind just kept whirling and asking frantic questions. Why was she trying so hard to please a man who was apathetic at best? Why had he created her and then doomed her to a life of solitude?

All of the X5s had a group of other X5s they were most genetically compatible with—prospective mates. Raina was the only one of her kind that had been created. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She'd had a male twin, she saw. He had been raised in another unit, and died as a result of his seizures at a very young age. In an instant, she relived a flash of a moment in his life when he'd gotten a vision and it had, as usual, triggered a seizure. However, this boy, 503, had not been created with the intent to be her mate. Sandeman had simply wanted a back-up seer. He'd made 503 as an experiment designed to find out which gender was more suited for the task.

She imagined that if things had gone Sandeman's way and his pythia experiment was deemed a success in his eyes, he would have simply cloned her DNA.

Her clarity of mind seemed to underline these hard truths in bold marker in her mind's eye. So who cared if she gave up her child? She'd already given up her life in service to the cause.

Two days later she left without saying goodbye to anyone, and took the next flight back to her home in D.C. She had things to take care of and the world didn't stop turning just because one was in the middle of some sort of emotional breakdown.

* * *

_Seattle_

Alec couldn't believe it when Raina left Seattle without saying anything. She must have called her people in as soon as he'd left her side. Max was pissed not only about that and the fact that she'd left them without any answers to their questions, but about the fact that he had disappeared with her for an entire night. "And what were you _doing_ with her Alec? Do I even have to ask?" she yelled, her voice disparaging.

She never came back either. He'd thought she would, that she was Sandeman's right hand lady, but she never did. Over two weeks passed without a word, then another transgenic showed up outside their gates, a huge X5 by the name of Gray.

Gray had dark brown hair and the gray eyes that his name implied, and was handsome in a rough and tumble sort of way. He had an almost permanent five o' clock shadow and walked with the swagger of a man who knew he was in charge. Something Raina had said in passing floated into his consciousness, and he realized that here was Brigit's mate, the guy who challenged Raina constantly, and was her rival as group alpha. He wondered if there was significance in his seemingly taking Raina's place as their ambassador, or if she'd asked to be reassigned. She might have, he thought, when he remembered her chagrin.

Anyway, Gray was a pretty likable guy despite all of his alpha bravado that he had going on. True, Alec kind of wanted to kick the shit out of him, but he assumed that was a dominance thing, as Raina had explained, and simply bit down on the urge the way he had at Manticore. Besides, Gray only flew in when he had something he needed to hand deliver to Max from Sandeman after he made his initial three-day welcome stay.

The first day he showed up, he handed Max a thick envelope and told her it was for her alone and if she chose to share the contents of that letter, it was her decision. Alec was pretty sure that by now Max had read it, but she hadn't said anything to anyone about what it said.

However, one thing had changed significantly in the past few weeks: Max now seemed to carry a huge torch for trying to find Familiar strongholds. Most of the transgenics were more worried about the threat on their doorstep—the army, the police, the picketers—than those crazy-ass Familiars, but Max insisted that the situation would resolve itself in time. She kept saying their job was to stop the breeding cult. Something big was going down, and only the people in the inner circle knew what it was, which seemed to consist of Max, Sandeman, and his transgenics. Alec hated being left in the dark, and wondered if Raina had stayed maybe things would have gone differently.

* * *

_Washington D.C._

She took two weeks for herself after leaving Montreal. During that time, Raina mostly brooded. Well, she also read a little bit about What To Expect When You're Expecting. She also spent a large chunk of time using her gift to make up a list of potential families that wouldn't mind raising a mutant baby.

It also seemed that she was rediscovering how to use her second sight. Something had changed her in Seattle, helped her find that inner on-off switch again. Once Raina 'turned it off' and didn't get a premonition for four days. That was when she got scared but when she reached for it, her talent was right there, ready to flood her with knowledge once again. She also thought about Alec a good deal more than she cared to admit.

Then the personal time she'd allotted herself was up, and she went back to work.

Raina had a routine and she was reluctant to break it even though she was knocked up. She got up early in the morning, made her coffee, and checked her datebook while she ate breakfast. The coffee had been switched out for decaf tea, which was not nearly as fulfilling. After that, Raina took her cautionary dose of tryptophan, which she had increased in consideration of a healthy child, and the prenatal vitamins she'd picked up at the pharmacy. Then she put on her sneakers and hit the trails for a twelve mile run.

When Raina arrived home, sweaty and exhilarated, she showered, ate another breakfast (transgenic metabolism demanded it), and got dressed for the day. Then she went to her appointments.

She was only twenty-three, though her records stated she was twenty-nine. It had taken Raina only six years to establish herself in Washington D.C. as one of the top lobbyists for hire. In a way, she had stayed remarkably close to her mercenary roots, though her battles were fought on a very different kind of field now. The political career had been a very successful front for her to establish contacts throughout a world of high-powered, highly influential individuals.

Then one by one she brought them over to the cause. Discreetly, of course.

Everything was made much easier with her ability, though she was not infallible. More often than not, she saw what may be, what the strongest possibilities for the given situation were. Sometimes things changed, the parameters lining up just right so that the underdog pulled through, but that was a rare occasion.

That particular day, Raina was having an important teatime meeting with a certain influential wife of a certain influential man. After being frisked by Secret Service, she was led into Cup of Zen Teahouse, which had been closed to the public for this meeting. Seated at the only occupied table was a brunette haired woman who was still lovely despite her age. In fact, Raina would go so far as to say that the streak of gray in her curly bangs was quite distinguished, and that was not because she was sucking up.

The current First Lady stood up, smoothed down her pleated navy skirt, and stepped around the table with a smile. "Raina, it's so nice to see you again." They hugged briefly, and Raina smiled, saying, "You too, Helena, you too. I missed our teatimes while I was out of town. It's hard to find someone who properly appreciates a good oolong."

"As did I, my dear. Now, please, have a seat." Helena gracefully took her seat in one of the modern interpretations of Asian style furniture, and Raina followed in her stead, smoothing the back of her black pencil skirt down in the back to keep unsightly bunching from occurring. The little Vietnamese woman hustled out from the back room there bearing a Japanese tea service in her hands. She waited for the Secret Service men to check inside the teapot and cups, and underneath them and the tray, used to the procedure by now.

"Morning," she greeted both women with a cheery smile and accented voice, "Missed you ladies. Good to see you 'gain. Brought your usual." They exchanged pleasantries for a moment, and then the owner calmly bustled off, full of bridled, boundless energy.

After that, Helena waved the men out of earshot. "Tell me what the matter is, Raina. We've been friends for a long time, and certainly you sometimes keep such odd company, but you've never done something so impulsive as to disappear for weeks. That's not like you. Are you in trouble?"

Raina knew that this conversation was the single most important step in her plan to date. She had to do it just right or risk screwing up years of work. It had taken a long time to gain the ear of the First Lady, and longer still to gain her trust. Helena was the wife of a politician and was well-aware of the dangers of misplaced trust. She needed to approach the situation with panache.

"No, well, not really, maybe…" she hesitated, glanced up demurely from underneath her eyelashes, and smiled sheepishly, "It's complicated."

Helena sipped her tea and stared thoughtfully at the well-known D.C. lobbyist across from her. She knew Raina was a top-notch actress; so was she. They both needed to be master manipulators in their chosen duties. Normally, Raina didn't play coy games with her—they had never needed to—which was how she knew on some level that Raina was more than in trouble, she was drowning in it.

"What have you been doing these past few weeks that I've been unavailable? I'm afraid I've been rather out of touch," Raina admitted with a small smile, "I had to take care of some personal business, and it ended up needing more attention that I'd originally thought."

Chuckling, Helena stated, "Really, Raina? 'Personal business?' That's the best you can come up with? Oh, fine, I can see I'll get nothing out of you at the moment. I had various luncheons and dinners with various sycophants, took a brief trip to Africa on business, and settled for whatever alone time I could garner from my husband. I also flew up to Cornell to visit Abby for the weekend, and made several speeches for a few civil rights groups. Oh, and I went to a charity fashion show. All in all it was a pretty average time for me." After a moment she added, "Uh, and I had an unfortunate encounter with that Senator McKinley. He is trying to secure enough votes in Congress to go and storm the gates of that transgenic enclave in Seattle. You know the one, right? It's been all over the news."

It was exactly what she'd been waiting for. "Yes, I know of it," Raina agreed cautiously, "Do you think he'll get the votes?" He would if he could arouse enough fear in the masses, but a lot of people were still on the fence, viewing the elimination of transgenics with a bit of trepidation.

The First Lady poured herself another cup of tea, and then responded with, "To be honest, I'm not sure. People are scared; they don't know what these transgenics are capable of. Some of them look more like animals than humans, I've heard. People fear what they don't understand, and their fear makes them hate."

"How do you feel about it?" Raina asked with genuine curiosity. She could only _see_ the future, she couldn't tell how people felt in it, what their inner thoughts were.

"Well," Helena hesitated, sensing that her answer was important to Raina, "I'm not sure. I suppose philosophically everything has the right to life. Our country was built upon the principles of freedom, equality—'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' right? But because they were created initially in a laboratory a lot of people argue that transgenics don't deserve these rights. However, they were carried by human mothers, and are genetically, for the most part, human, and they were birthed in this country. Wouldn't it make us all hypocrites to cast them out?"

Raina nodded her agreement as she refilled her own cup. "Yes, I think it would. Transgenics were, for lack of a better word, made in America. They should be considered Americans. After all, their original purpose was to fight for this country, to die for this country. So we will send them off to war to fight in the place of our sons, our daughters, but we will not grant them the basic rights that all sentient beings in the U.S. are born with? It's not Constitutional."

Helena nodded sharply in agreement, and then she paused and smiled crookedly at her friend. "You know, I've never really discussed this with anyone. This is why you've become so important to me, Raina. You don't pander to my elected station. I can speak candidly around you and expect you to do the same. As to the transgenic cause, I agree with you one hundred percent that the way they are being treated is not fair."

"But?" Raina prompted.

The First Lady shrugged her shoulders in her crisp navy jacket. "What are we—you and I—to do about it? Raina, are you…did you take up the transgenic cause? Is that what your hiatus was about?" Helena Gardner was a shrewd woman, and she could not help but wonder at her friend's impassioned tone.

The black haired woman smiled sheepishly and swept all that lovely black hair off to the side. "What would you say if I had?"

"I would ask you what your plan of attack was," Helena replied curtly, but with a grin that said she would at least hear her out. "You've never asked me for anything, Raina, and I've always appreciated that. I'm the wife of a very powerful man, and merely my word of approval would have gotten some of your more difficult projects the immediate green light. Because of that and how much I really do like you, I'm willing to hear you out on this." Her steel blue eyes were serious as she refilled her cup once more, and watched as Raina set hers down.

"Number one, we get the army to pull back. Number two, campaign campaign campaign. Transgenics have to be willing to step forward and identify themselves with the American people, especially those that don't look human. We'll never get the bill passed if people don't understand them."

"What bill?" Helena interrupted.

"I have a proposal for a bill of citizenship for all transgenics, and I've got over a hundred very important signatures on it already."

The First Lady eyed her friend from across the table rather dubiously, and then finally stated the obvious. "That's not enough."

Raina snorted. "I know, but I've been working rather unobtrusively, if you know what I mean. I can get more once we start educating the masses."

"We?" her companion reiterated mildly.

"Well, I…that is to say…" she blushed slightly and took a deep gulp of tea to cover it up. "Assuming too much?" Raina asked with the proper amount of contriteness.

Helena was delighted with her slip-up and laughed loudly. "A bit, dearest, but continue."

"Ah, where was I? Oh, yes, the bill. So after campaigning and getting the rest of the supporters, we present a bill to Congress asking for American citizenship and all the Constitutional rights that entails for all transgenics. If that gets passed, I'd recommend making it an amendment just so that it can't be revoked. After a suitable wait period, of course."

Helena liked Raina. She thought the girl was smart and funny and full of spunk. She'd been charmed from the moment they were introduced at that White House ball three years ago. Back then Raina had still just been an up-and-comer in her field, though she was working fast to gain notoriety. The raven-haired beauty had come on the arm of one of the Middle Eastern princes. It said something that though Helena could not recall the prince's name or face, she remembered the first joke Raina had cracked in her presence and the way she, Helena, had laughed so hard that they drew the attention of half the guests away from whatever they'd been doing. Their camaraderie was present immediately. Still, what Raina was planning was a difficult task to undertake, and she wanted to be sure that her young friend was prepared for it.

"It sounds lovely, but Raina, this is not something that is going to happen overnight. It won't be a matter of months like most of your causes. This is a long-term project that is going to take years to achieve. Years, Raina. Are you sure you're prepared to give up that chunk of your life for them?"

For the first time ever in Helena's presence, Raina looked at her and dropped her mask. In her pretty eyes, Helena saw strength and resolve and a look she'd seen only once or twice in her life of somebody who was ready to fight. She didn't need the verbal confirmation, but Raina gave it to her anyway. "Absolutely." The steel she saw in her eyes was also there in her voice, and Helena bobbed her head in acknowledgment.

Then her friend once again packed all of that emotion away, leaving her face easy and pleasant, like she was on the verge of smiling.

"Helena, this is something I'm very passionate about, and like you said, I've never asked you to use your clout to support one of my projects; I'm asking you now."

The middle-aged woman was quiet as she sipped her tea, thinking very carefully. It was true that she could try to talk to her husband. He was, after all, the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. She might be able to very casually ask him if he could end the siege at Terminal City. But there was still the prevalent fear of transgenics that seemed to be going around like an epidemic. She could try though.

With her mind made up, she finally looked up at her friend, noticing not for the first time her very odd eye color. It made her wonder… "I'll try," Helena stated, her tone brooking no argument.

Raina graciously tipped her head in acknowledgement that for now that was the most definitive answer she would get from the First Lady. For now.

* * *

TBC…


End file.
